A “disgusting” fatberg said to weigh as much as a small bungalow has been removed from a London sewer.

The blockage was a mix of oil, grease and fat, along with items such as wet wipes, nappies and cotton buds.

It was lurking under Yabsley Street, a few hundred metres from the towers of the Canary Wharf financial district.

Thames Water and MTS Cleansing Services took two weeks to remove it and say it could have caused sewage to spill into homes.

“This was a huge, disgusting fatberg that took a great deal of brute force and teamwork to clear,” said Matt Rimmer, Thames Water’s head of waste networks.

“Our brilliant engineers were able to clear the huge blockage before it caused serious problems, negotiating tricky and cramped working conditions along the way.”

People are being urged to “bin it – don’t block it” and think carefully about what they flush down the toilet.

Mr Rimmer added: “We’d ask everyone to help fight the fatberg by only flushing the 3Ps – pee, poo and paper – as well as disposing of fat and oils in the bin, not the sink.”

Fatbergs have become a common problem in urban sewers – 140 tonnes of them were removed from drains at Greenwich, Pall Mall and the Shard in 2019.

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