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VIDEO: From gnashers to knickers - Leeds sewers give up bizarre trove
A pair of handcuffs, a TV set, a live chicken, hundreds of pairs of false teeth ... even a kitchen sink.
These are some of the bizarre items found in the 25,000 miles of sewers under Yorkshire's streets.
The miles of underground pipes which carry waste to water treatment plants are regularly checked and cleaned out, with a surprising catalogue of finds.
Yorkshire Water bosses spend millions of pounds removing objects from sewers to stop blockages and prevent flooding.
One of the main problems is the amount of cooking fat washed down kitchen sinks, which sets in the pipes, causing problems.
Trevor Birch, networks asset manager at Yorkshire Water, said: "We often find some pretty bizarre things down there and whilst it's easy to laugh at such occurrences, they can have some serious consequences as a result of the blockages they cause.
"In serious situations, these blockages can lead to external and even internal flooding so it's certainly no laughing matter.
"Our sewers aren't rubbish bins and we would ask that the public acts responsibly when disposing of its waste and uses sewers only for waste water."
He said over the years they had made some bizarre discoveries including: a car wheel, a Belfast sink (the big, rectangular ceramic kind), children's toys, cutlery, jewellery, a toy gun, supermarket trolley, a fire extinguisher, clothes airer, traffic cones and tools including hammers, chisels and saws.
Mr Birch said that one particular section of sewer in North Yorkshire often turned up women's underwear.
He added: "The main blockage problem is tonnes of cooking fat, oils and grease, which people pour down their kitchen sinks."
The correct thing to do with cooking fat is to put it in newspaper and discard in the black bin.
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Weather for Leeds
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
