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Piranhas block Shropshire sewer
 One of the dead piranhas that blocked a sewer in Shropshire.
One of the dead piranhas that blocked a sewer in Shropshire.

Resident had flushed fish down the toilet

A Shropshire stink has been traced to piranhas that were blocking the sewers.

Residents in Madeley, Telford, called Severn Trent Water complaining of a fishy smell coming from the sewers.

The water firm sent a team to investigate – and were surprised to find dead piranha fish.

"It appears that a nearby resident had been disposing of dead fish, including piranhas, down the toilet and they had blocked the sewers," said a spokeswoman for the water firm.

Matt Final and Jay Slater from Severn Trent Water who found the fish 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, but this is just one example of amazing things we find blocking the sewers.”

The company said it is just one example of inappropriate objects being flushed down the toilet.

In the past year its has been called to nearly 4,000 blockages in Shropshire, about 75 per cent of which were due to people misusing the sewer system. In January it recovered a pile of pants that had been flushed away.

The firm said the blockages are costing the firm more than £10m a year to clean up.

Image by Severn Trent Water

 

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Equine Disease Surveillance report released for Q4 2025

News Story 1
 The latest Equine Disease Surveillance report has been released, with details on equine disease from Q4 of 2025.

The report, produced by Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance, includes advice on rule changes for equine influenza vaccination.

Statistics and maps detail recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus, equine influenza, equine strangles and equine grass sickness. A series of laboratory reports provides data on virology, bacteriology, parasitology and toxicosis.

This issue also features a case study of orthoflavivus-associated neurological disease in a horse in the UK. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NSA webinar explores sheep tailing and castration

The National Sheep Association (NSA) is to host a free webinar on the castration and tail docking of lambs.

The webinar, 'Understanding the tailing and castration consultation: A guide for sheep farmers', will be hosted online on Monday, 2 March 2026 at 7.30pm.

It comes during a government consultation into the methods used for these procedures. Farmers are encouraged to engage before the consultation period closes on Monday, 9 March 2026.

The webinar offers clear and actionable guidance to support farmers to contribute meaningfully to the consultation and prepare for potential changes.

On the panel will be former SVS president Kate Hovers, farmer and vet Ann Van Eetvelt and SRUC professor in Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences Cathy Dwyer. Each panel member will utilise their own specialism and expertise to evaluate risks and outcomes to sheep farming.

Find out more about the webinar on the NSA website.