False teeth, army ammunition, fridge freezers, sofas, mobile phones and a space hopper were found in Yorkshire Water’s sewerage network this year.

The unusual items were just a handful of objects with turned up in the company’s water treatment plants.

Now Yorkshire Water is warning residents to consider what they put down the toilet and drain to prevent the county’s 54,000km network of pipes becoming blocked or damaged.

The company treated 20,000 blockages this year, many caused by nappies, baby wipes, cotton buds and solidified oils and greases.

Lee Pitcher, Yorkshire Water’s head of waste water operations, said: “Obviously everyone knows you shouldn’t be putting a mobile phone or a wallet down the toilet, but it’s actually the less obvious things that people aren’t aware of which create blockages, causing problems for us and our customers around the region.”