A 'monster fatberg', believed to be Devon's largest, has been discovered in Sidmouth
ADVERTISEMENTA "monster fatberg," consisting of everything that shouldn't have been flushed down a toilet or poured down a sink, has been discovered in Devon, England.
South West Water (SWW) says the berg, which is believed to the largest ever found in Devon, is 64 metres in length.
To put this into perspective, it is 7 metres longer than the height of Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa, 12 metres longer than the height of Nelson's Column in London, and 17 metres longer than the height of Paris' Arc de Triomphe.
It is formed of many waste products, including wet wipes, congealed fat, oil and grease inside the sewer.
And the removal process isn't expected to be simple.
"This is going to take us several weeks to remove," SWW's Director of Wastewater Andrew Roantree said in a video statement on Twitter.
"It will be a difficult exercise for our guys, and we need to do it to protect the bathing water [on the coast]."
Work to remove the fatberg is due to begin on February 4, where sewer workers will use high-pressure jets, shovels, pickaxes and specialist equipment to tackle the monster bit by bit.
These sewer blockages costs customers £4.5 million a year," South West Water warned.
"Every time a wet wipe is flushed or oil poured down the drain, there is a risk these items could cause sewer blockages. This is extremely unpleasant and could happen in your own home."
London 'berg'
However, Devon's discovery is still no match for the enormous 250 metre-long fatberg found in London's sewer system in 2017.
Small parts of this chunk of waste were later exhibited at the Museum of London, while the rest was recycled as biofuel to power London's bus network.
READ MORE: "BIN it, don't BLOCK it!" - Monster 'fatberg' is found in London sewer