Mega 1km Spanish 'fatberg' made of condoms and dental floss removed from Valencia sewer

Officials in the Spanish city of Valencia have started a campaign to educate members of the public about what not to put down the toilet.

It comes after a massive operation was completed to remove a giant mass of fat and wet wipes that had become lodged in the sewers.

The giant 1km lump took a monumental effort to break up and dislodge, and ended up costing the local authorities €2m (£1.8m) to remove.

According to thinkSpain, the mass mainly contained facial and wet wipes, as well as cotton wool and condoms.

Councillor for water Vicent Sarrià said: "All solid elements should be thrown in the bin, not the toilet, because it creates blockages.

"It's a growing problem, but as it cannot be seen, it goes unnoticed until something happens.

"As Valencia is a flat city, the problem affects the pump network which carries waste water to the treatment plant and is in place because there are no hills to channel it downward."

When the mass was discovered, officials found that it was on the verge of bursting and could have leaked out, flooding the nearby botanical gardens at what used to be the Turia riverbed.

A second similar fatberg has already been detected in another part of the sewer network, but it can't be removed until early 2018, when the required funds will be made available.

Calls are being made for the Spanish government to work with companies who produce items such as wet-wipes, to make them biodegradable and help ease the burden on the sewerage system.