WITNEY has been branded a ‘fatberg’ hotspot – with cooking fat and wet wipes causing major blockages in the town’s sewers every fortnight.

Thames Water has launched a campaign in the town to raise awareness of the issue among business owners and residents.

Despite the campaign, owners of eateries in the town have told the Oxford Mail they recycle cooking oils and haven’t experienced any problems.

Paul Spink, owner of Corn Street venue Fat Lil’s, said: “Thankfully, we don't have any problems. I'm also a bit of a nerd when it comes to waste of any sort.

“At Fat Lil's we scrape plates – when customers leave any scraps – into environmentally-friendly bags and then wash the plates. However, there isn't any grease there.

“We recycle all oils used in the fryers too. It gets taken away and turned into industrial diesel I believe. We have grease traps in all our pipework and they are permanently free of grease.

“So, I can't speak for everyone else, but I know we're already doing a lot to mitigate the risk of blocking drains.”

Engineers from Thames Water clear at least three major blockages from the town’s sewers every two weeks. In the past three years, 17 properties in Witney have flooded with sewage as a result of blockages caused by fatbergs, formed when leftover cooking fat and wet wipes congeal into a solid mass in sewers.

The campaign encourages residents with the phrase ‘bin it – don’t block it’.

They can cause sewage to back up into homes, businesses and public spaces, and pollute waterways and the wider environment.

Bruce Simmons, manager at The Fleece, however, described a similar situation as at Fat Lil’s.

He said: “I’ve only been here a couple of months but we haven’t had any problem. It’s the first I’ve heard about it.

“All our oil is filtered and collected by a company to be recycled.”

During the campaign, posters depicting a wet wipe, alongside poems about the impact of blocked sewers, will be displayed on billboards and bus stops across Witney.

There will also be postcards sent to hundreds of homes. A survey following a similar campaign in east London last year revealed around 70 per cent of people who had received Thames Water’s advice changed their ways and blockages in the area have since reduced by 26 per cent.