Bra, panties cause road collapse

Newsquest

Published June 20, 2007 at midnight

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DARLINGTON, U.K. - A bra and pair of underwear were to blame for a sewage leak that damaged more than 20 homes and caused excrement to flow down a street.

Northumbrian Water said Monday the underwear had been flushed down a toilet and became snagged on a sewage pipe under a busy road. Water could not pass the bra, which caused the sewer to collapse, and made the road crack open on Friday.

Dirty water and excrement flowed down Middleton Lane, in Middleton St George, near Darlington, and into people's homes.

The road will be closed for another five days, causing buses to be re-routed, and Northumbrian Water estimates repairs will cost roughly $30,000 US.

The company is now urging residents to think carefully about what they put down the sink and toilet.

A Northumbrian Water spokeswoman said: "When we dug down, we found a bra and knickers had snagged itself across the nine-inch diameter of the pipe.

"There was also a heavy build-up of grease and fat. The pipes are not designed to carry that, and they're certainly not designed to carry bras and knickers.

"We encourage people to bag and bin anything that isn't water, basically.

"If the bra and knickers had not been put down there, we don't think the sewer would have collapsed. It was extremely irresponsible behavior."

Northumbrian Water cannot pinpoint where the underwear came from, but believe it was local. A two-meter section of collapsed sewer has been replaced.

Middleton St. George residents reacted to the flood by claiming the pipes were not fit to cope with the village's increasing population.

Councilor Doris Jones, from Darlington Borough Council, maintains the sewers need replacing, despite the underwear discovery.

"I just can't accept that's been wholly responsible," she said. "The main problem is the sewers just can't cope - they really are antiquated."

Jones said pensioners had been forced to use expensive taxis because of bus diversions.

The Northumbrian Water spokesman said a full camera survey of the pipes around Middleton Lane would be carried out, and a catchment study would examine the whole area.

"We are aware of the problems and are trying to resolve them," she said.

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