Huge fatberg weighing as much as a car removed from outside Queens Hotel in Leeds city centre

The 1.5-tonne mass was recovered in City Square outside the hotel and in front of Channel 4’s new Majestic headquarters in the city.

A team from Yorkshire Water spent four nights on site breaking up the blockage into pieces.

They removed several tonnes of fat that had built up in a 100m section of brick egg sewer.

In some sections the fat had blocked up to 60 per cent of the sewer, preventing sewage from flowing naturally toward sewage treatment works.

Overall, the fatberg weighed as much as a Mini Cooper.

Further work will be needed to remove all the fat deposits within the sewer.

Yorkshire Water is now urging people not to pour fats and oils down their sinks.

Mark Hammond, head of customer field services at Yorkshire Water, said: “The disposal of fats and greases down sinks can result in significant blockages within the network.

“This fatberg was blocking 60% of the sewer’s capacity in some sections, which has the potential to cause sewage flooding for nearby businesses and the local environment.

"This incident took a lot of time, effort and teamwork to remove.

“While pouring fats and greases down the drain may seem harmless, we know from experience that the build ups caused by frequent disposal of these liquids can have significant consequences.

“Thankfully, our team was able to identify this particular blockage and remove it before it had an impact on our customers.

“We’d urge everyone to help fight fatbergs in our sewers by disposing of fat and oils in the bin and by only flushing the 3Ps – pee, poo and (toilet) paper.”

In June, three-and-a-half hours removing a fat blockage from Weetwood, while others removed a large number of wet wipes from a Headingley sewer.

The incidents were caused by the incorrect disposal of fats and wet wipes into the sewage network.

-> Plea to Leeds residents after fatberg and wet wipes block city sewersWhat is a fatberg?

A fatberg is a big rock-type mass of waste that clog up sewage systems.

They are caused by mixing non-biodegradable items such as wet wipes, nappies and sanitary towels with congealed grease or cooking fat.

The solidified fat and single-use plastic items continue to build underground.

This then blocks the systems until the pipes can no longer cope.

There are approximately 300,000 sewer blockages annually, according to Water UK.

This costs the country £100 million.

Thousands of properties suffer sewer flooding caused by these blockages every year in the UK.

Sewer flooding also has a major impact on the environment.

Yorkshire Water has a 'Bin It Don't Block It' campaign to raise awareness of what should not be poured down the sink or flushed down the toilet.

It states that: "Only pee, paper and poo should go down the loo. Everything else, including food waste, should be put in the bin.

"Let leftover fat, oil and grease cool, then pour it into a suitable container and put it in the bin.

"Wipe pots and pans out with kitchen roll before washing up or placing in a dishwasher."

It advises people not to flush these itesm down the toilet or pour them down the sink: kitchen paper, nappies, sanitary products, cooking oil, cotton buds, cat litter, paint, leftover food and plasters.

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