Grrrr!!!! Lanes grapples muscle-bound strongman to unblock sewer

Lanes engineers find all sorts of things holding up water when they go to unblock drains – so what about a muscle-bound beefcake?

Okay, so this particular strongman was no more than six inches tall and appeared to be stuck in a show-off pose, but he was perfect for blocking a drain.

Lanes Utilities blockage engineer David Hicks discovered the plastic toy when he was sent to investigate bad smells coming from a foul sewer, on behalf of Thames Water.

The 225mm diameter sewer ran through a garden of a Thames Water customer’s house in North London.

David said: “A 150mm pipe joined the foul sewer at this point, and it was clear a blockage had formed.

“We cleared out some debris, then up popped this little fella. It looked like he’d become wedged in the pipe junction and refused to budge, causing the drain to block.

“A child could have popped him down the toilet, either as part of a game or because he wasn’t wanted any more. It happens all the time.”

The rather scary-looking toy was obviously made of stern stuff, and didn’t want to flushed away without a fight.

David added: “I’ve found all sorts when unblocking drains – shoes, carving knives, even a koi carp. So I wasn’t so shocked to find a wrestler.”