Flesh-eating piranhas cause a stink by blocking Shropshire sewers

Homeowners have spoken of their shock after flesh-eating piranhas were found blocking their local sewers.

Around half a dozen of the dangerous creatures - which are more likely to inhabit South American rivers than the UK - were discovered blocking the drains in Telford, Shropshire.

Workers for Severn Trent Water revealed the carnivorous fish were found lining pipes leading to people's homes.

They were called to investigate when residents complained of a fishy smell wafting into their homes.

IT worker Niall Poole, 22, from Madeley, Shropshire, 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."

Severn Trent Water said they believed the culprit was someone who became bored of their pet fish and decided to get rid of them by flushing them away.

But they moved to reassure concerned locals that they did not believe any more were alive and circulating the pipes around the town.

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A spokesman for the company said: "The culprit was piranhas. It appears that a nearby resident had been disposing of dead fish, including piranhas, down the toilet and they had blocked the sewers."

Workmen Matt Final and Jay Slater, who went to investigate the sewers, 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 a little shocked to remove piranhas.

"You wouldn't think 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."

Last year blocked sewers cost Severn Trent more than £10 million per year clearing products and mess from its network.

Sue Fulford, customer operations manager for Severn Trent, said: "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."

Piranhas are freshwater fish that mainly inhabit South American rivers and have been known to attack humans.

In 2011, a drunk eighteen-year-old man was attacked and killed in Rosario del Yata, Bolivia, and in 2012, a five-year-old Brazilian girl was attacked and killed by a shoal of piranhas.

Some Brazilian rivers have warning signs about lethal piranhas. In 2011, in the Brazilian state of Piauí, there were recurring attacks resulting in over one hundred people being injured.