Edison Chen
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- Predators found after residents complained about a fishy smell
- Workmen uncovered them in a drain leading to houses in Shrops
- Locals now fear more of the fish could still be alive in their system
- Water company bosses believe they must have been dumped
- Piranhas are known for sharp teeth, and a voracious appetite for meat
Workmen found the flesh-eating tropical fish in a drain leading to residents' homes in Telford, Shropshire, yesterday.
By the time they were fished out all of them though, they were dead.
Water bosses believe that someone had flushed the fish down the toilet when they got bored of keeping them as pets, and claimed they were the killer fish commonly found in South America and not any cold-water species.
In a statement, Severn Trent Water said: 'It appears that a nearby resident had been disposing of dead fish, including piranhas, down the toilet and they had blocked the sewers'
Severn Trent inspectors, Matt Final and Jay Slater, who were sent to investigate the Telford blockage said: 'We've certainly seen some weird things in the sewers over the years but we were a little shocked to remove piranhas.
'You wouldn't think a fish of this size would fit down a toilet, but this is just one example of amazing things we find blocking the sewers.'
Locals now fear more of the fish - known for their razor sharp teeth, powerful jaws and a voracious appetite for meat - could still be alive in their sewerage system
IT worker Niall Poole,22, from Madeley, Shrops., said: 'We could have a real-life ‘Piranha 3D' in Telford on our hands, you never know.
'If they've found some piranhas, it is surely feasible that there could be more still alive down there.'
Local butcher Jim Hoult, 56, added: 'I might well be checking beneath the toilets seat before I go to the loo now.'
Barry Briggs has lived on New Road for five years and has a drain right outside his house. He was forced to call Environmental Health after the drain began to have a fishy whiff.
Mr Briggs said: 'If someone called me up and told me they found pirahnas in the drain last week, I would have thought it was an April Fool's joke.
'As long as they are all dead I don't mind, but I don't like the though of the fish swimming around here- not when I have my pond in my garden.'
Workmen Matt Final and Jay Slater, who went to investigate the smelly sewers for Severn Trent, said many of the fish were several inches long.
Mr Final said: 'We've certainly seen some weird things in the sewers over the years but we were just a bit shocked to remove piranhas.
'I wouldn't have thought a fish of this size would fit down a toilet.
'It is just one example of amazing things we find blocking the sewers, but there is a serious aspect to this as they had the potential to cause a lot of damage.'
It is the second time sewers have been blocked in Shropshire this year by rubbish being pushed into toilets - after workers found several pairs of knickers blocking the drains in January.
Severn Trent said it was called to investigate the latest incident after people complained of a fishy smell coming into their homes.
Severn Trent today said blocked sewers are a serious issue. It said three-quarters of the 4,000 blockages in Shropshire last year were found to be caused by people misusing the sewer system.
The problem costs Severn Trent more than £10 million per year clearing products and mess from its network.
Sue Fulford, customer operations manager for Severn Trent, said: 'Having sewage flooding inside your home due to sewers being blocked is one of the most horrible things that can happen to you, and we don't want our customers to suffer in this way.
'The drains that take waste water away from your home are only a few inches wide and are only meant to take water, toilet roll and human waste - certainly not piranhas or pants.
'Toilet roll is meant to break down when it gets wet so it washes easily through the system. That's not the case with things like large tropical fish which can get stuck in smaller drains.
'These sewer blockages, if not identified and cleared, can lead to sewers backing up and overflowing into people's homes and gardens.
'And it's not necessarily the people who put the wrong things down the toilet that are affected.
'The blockage can happen further down the street, so what you do in your home can be causing a problem for your neighbours.
'We are spending millions of pounds every year sending teams into sewers with jetting equipment and sometimes even spades to dig out these blockages.
'We ask people to get themselves a bin in their bathroom and use that rather than the toilet.'
Read more: Man-eating PIRANHAS found inside blocked drains in Telford | Mail Online
is morning I lost my 2 b$lls to Piranhas
