October 26, 2016 3.01 pm
This story is over 59 months old
Misleading packaging blamed for 21 tonne wipes blockage in Lincoln
UK water companies are appealing to Trading Standards to end misleading packaging after it was revealed 21 tonnes of wipes and sanitary items were flushed in Lincoln. The news comes as blockage clearing costs in the East of England reached £15 million a year. Anglian Water estimates around 800 tonnes of wipes and sanitary items…
Around 21 tonnes of flushed wipes are responsible for blockages in Lincoln.
UK water companies are appealing to Trading Standards to end misleading packaging after it was revealed 21 tonnes of wipes and sanitary items were flushed in Lincoln.
The news comes as blockage clearing costs in the East of England reached £15 million a year.
Anglian Water estimates around 800 tonnes of wipes and sanitary items are being flushed every week in the region, with around 21 tonnes found in Lincoln alone.
The water company is asking customers to bin troublesome wipes, rather than flushing them down the loo.
UK water companies have joined forces to ask Trading Standards to end what they call misleading ‘flushable’ claims.
A recent declaration was signed by all UK water companies and 19 other countries around the world, outlining the water industry’s position on products labelled as “flushable”.
Sanitary items and wipes have been blamed for the blocked pipes in Lincoln.
The manufacturers of wipes used for host of purposes, such as cleaning and personal hygiene, claim they can be flushed and print this clearly on product packaging.
But Anglian Water argues wipes do not break down like conventional toilet paper after going down loo.
As a result, flushing them is causing sewer blockages, flooding to homes and gardens and also damaging the environment.
Rachel Dyson, Anglian Water’s Keep It Clear programme manager, said: “Wipes cause real problems in the sewer network and have a devastating impact on customers.
“Wipes are by far the worst culprit but cotton buds, tampons and fats also cause problems in the sewers.
“They result in around 80% of the 30,000 blockages across the East of England each year.
“This, along with a build up of fats and greases wrongly put down the sink after cooking, is a rapidly growing problem.
“Only the three ‘p’s should be flushed – pee, poo and (toilet) paper.
“We want customers to be given clear advice by manufacturers on how to dispose of wipes responsibly. This advice should be “do not flush”.
Sarah Mukherjee, Director of Environment at Water UK, said: “There are strong views from customers and water companies around the world that it is time for the manufacturers to take action to prevent sewer flooding.
“The financial and emotional cost of a sewer flood in your home is awful and surely it is worth taking every step possible to prevent this happening.”
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Police are appealing to locate a man captured on CCTV in a pub in Grantham, after a female staff member was reportedly sexually assaulted while on shift.
At around 7.30pm on Wednesday, September 22, a man entered the Old Bank pub on Grantham High Street and ordered a drink from the bar.
After finishing the drink, the man went to the bar and offered a tip. At this point he grabbed a female member of staff with both hands and kissed her neck, before being pushed away and told not to touch her.
Have you seen this man? | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Police originally released an image of the man in question, but have now published CCTV footage from the pub to try and help identify him quicker.
If you have any information which could help with police’s investigation, contact officers in one of the following ways:
Call 101 and quote incident 381 of September 22
Email [email protected] and use the same incident number in the subject line
Volunteers have again been cleaning up the Sincil Bank area of Lincoln, collecting car tyres, a road sign, shopping trolleys and even a used needle in a bid to make the streets tidier.
The cleanup was organised by volunteers at Sincil Bank Lincoln RiverCare and Litter Pick Group, as an army of people armed with litter picking devices took to the streets of Lincoln on Saturday, October 23.
The litter picks take place monthly, and despite having reduced numbers this time around, the group managed to collect a large hoard of rubbish.
The cleanup team were hard at work again in the Lincoln area. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
Volunteers took to the Hermit Street and Portland Street areas first, where numerous empty cans of beer and broken glass bottles had to be cleared from what looked like a party aftermath.
Drug paraphernalia was also found in the area in the form of a used needle, which was safely disposed of due to the health risks that come with potentially coming into contact with used syringes.
What appears to be a party aftermath in the Hermit Street/Portland Street zone. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
The items collected include a bike frame pulled from a drain, a games console, two shopping trolleys, two car tyres, a bag of clothes and a television without a screen.
Volunteers meet monthly for the litter pick. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
The cleanup operation takes place around the Sincil Bank area of the city. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
As well as this, the volunteers collected 45 face masks, 155 cans, 65 glass bottles, 55 plastic bottle containers and 20 bags.
The volunteers were fishing items out of the river. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
Perhaps the most bizarre find was a box full of mounted pike heads, which were described as “macabre” upon discovery.
A pretty harrowing find on a litter pick. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
Nick Rawsthorne said of the pike heads: “We know Halloween is now very close, but to find a box full of mounted pike heads was totally unexpected. A rather bizarre find and a sad reflection on how some treat local wildlife.”
All smiles for October’s litter pick. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
The next litter pick from the group will be on November 20, and to check out more of the great work done by Sincil Bank Lincoln RiverCare and Litter Pick Group, check out their Facebook page.
Teams were leaving no stone unturned. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
Another successful meet-up for the volunteers. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
A Lincolnshire woman has been cleared of sexually assaulting a man after the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence against her.
Cheryl Howarth, 45, of Timms Drove, Low Grounds, near Swineshead, had denied a single charge of sexual assault on a male aged over 16-years-old. The offence was alleged to have occured on August 30, 2019.
Howarth appeared at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday where her case was listed as a ‘backer’ trial. However her trial could not be heard due to other court work.
Andrew Fitch-Holland, prosecuting, said the Crown Prosecution Service had decided to drop the case and offer no evidence on the charge after speaking to the complainant about the further delay.
Recorder Simon King directed a not guilty verdict to be entered against Howarth and told her she was free to leave court.
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