Nappy flushers block water system

Problems have been caused by nappies and baby wipes

Scottish Water has asked for public help in a village where the water system is regularly blocked by nappies.

The treatment works at the Peeblesshire hamlet of Cardrona have been regularly clogged up since the start of the year.

Engineers have been called out on an almost daily basis to deal with problems at the unmanned station.

Scottish Water has been unable to identify who is causing the blockages but has sent out leaflets to locals highlighting the issue.

The company said the troubles had started on 16 January this year.

It said engineers had been called out on "numerous occasions" since then to tackle the problem.

Leaflet campaign

Community Relations Manager Bill Elliot confirmed that parents with young children appeared to be causing most of the headache.

"The issues we are having at Cardrona village are caused by sanitary waste, in particular baby wipes and nappies," he said.

Mr Elliot said Scottish Water had now launched a "Bag It & Bin It" campaign in the area with letters and leaflets.

Businesses in the area are also being visited to raise awareness of the problem.

Scottish Water said estimates had shown that 340 million items of sanitary waste were flushed away in Scotland every year.

About £6m is spent annually resolving blockages.