How did half a Mini Cooper end up in London’s sewer system?

Some strange things turn up in the sewers, but there is usually an explanation for the majority of items the sewer workers dredge up.

However, one unusual case has stuck in the mind of Simon Evans, a Thames Water employee. In a bit of a one-off, he recalls finding half a Mini: “It was dragged out of one of our major London sewers. Pretty bizarre. Obviously that didn’t get flushed down the toilet.”

How the half a vehicle made it into London’s underground sewer system is a bit of an unsolved mystery given the sheer size of the item. But while it is pretty unusual to find sections of vehicles in the pipes under our streets, Mr Evans told the Guardian that there is a host of other weird discoveries trawled up on a daily basis.

‘Fatbergs’ were one such issue. This is what sewer workers call fat that has been washed away down the sink while warm which has then cooled and congealed once it hits the sewer. The ‘fatbergs’ then bind to other detritus floating around to cause problems in the system.

The old cliché of flushing dead goldfish down the toilet is also true, but other small animals also crop up now and again, including hamsters and gerbils. “They don’t help, because they’re quite sturdy little things,” observed Mr Evans.

So next time you’re wondering if you can flush some odd item down the toilet thinking it will never be seen again, spare a thought for the sewer workers labouring away to keep the city clear of fatbergs and rogue Minis.