A toy car, a dog bowl and even a traffic cone are among the most unusual items discovered in sewers across the South West during 2025, according to new figures released by South West Water.
The water company’s teams also uncovered a trolley wheel, a hand brush, a football and a tyre during routine sewer inspections, prompting questions about how such a diverse range of objects ended up beneath streets and homes.
Many of the discoveries were identified during inspections using CCTV cameras, with several flagged through new AI-assisted analysis of footage introduced by South West Water during the year.
AI supporting sewer inspections
Traditionally, sewer inspections involve specialised cameras being lowered into pipes to record thousands of hours of footage, which is then manually reviewed by technicians to identify faults, structural issues and blockages.
In 2025, South West Water enhanced this process by piloting artificial intelligence systems trained to automatically label objects and anomalies in CCTV footage. The technology helps teams review inspections more efficiently and identify unusual items or potential problems more quickly.
Training the AI involves analysing tens of thousands of images from across the sewer network, enabling the system to recognise typical sewer conditions as well as the many types of defects and obstructions that can occur.
A serious message behind the finds
While some of the discoveries may raise a smile, South West Water said they highlight a serious issue facing wastewater networks.
Blockages caused by inappropriate items entering the sewer can lead to wastewater backing up into homes and gardens, damage to infrastructure, flooding of streets and roads, and pollution of local rivers and coastal waters, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall.
In the past year alone, South West Water has cleared around 7,000 avoidable blockages from its sewer network, with teams working around the clock to keep wastewater flowing.
Andy Pettifer, Wastewater Operations Manager at South West Water, said that even seemingly harmless items can have serious consequences.
“Finding a toy car or a football in a sewer might raise a few eyebrows, but it’s a serious issue that our teams are facing each year,” he said.
“Our sewers are designed for wastewater only, and anything else can cause blockages that affect homes, businesses and the environment. So please, only flush the three P’s – and if it’s not pee, poo or paper, put it in the bin.”
