ENGINEERS are this week reviewing special camera footage of a sewer pipe blighted by a giant ‘fatberg’ to decide whether further work is needed.

The pipe, on A44 Sidbury Road, Worcester, was closed from December 21-24 while the blockage was removed, causing major traffic delays for last minute Christmas shoppers.

Workers then returned on Friday (February 16) night with specialised cameras.

Worcestershire County Council’s highways department said the overnight work was to “prevent ongoing problems using specialist equipment”.

A spokeswoman for Severn Trent said in December, engineers “managed to unblock the fat from the sewer enough to get it running again so service to customers isn’t affected”.

She said the engineers used the special CCTV cameras to see exactly what is causing the remainder of the blockage.

“Once we know what we’re dealing with we can work out a plan to resolve the issue.

“The meeting to review the CCTV footage and work out what to do next is happening later this week,” she said on Tuesday.

“What makes this job more complicated than normal is the fact that the part of the pipe that’s blocked is under a canal, so we can’t just dig down, and that’s why it’s taking a while longer to get it all sorted.

“We’re really sorry for any inconvenience we cause and we’d like to remind people in the area that fat should not be washed down the sink as it can cause issues just like this.”

Investigators from Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) are currently reviewing fat, oil and grease disposal at restaurants and takeaways in the area.

A spokesman said: “WRS officers will be asking about the control of fat and grease as part of their routine inspections of food premises.

“If Severn Trent Water make us aware of a specific action as a result of the work they are carrying out, then we would take urgent action.”

The Sidbury fatberg was estimated to be between seven and 10 metres in length.