A wild badger, a Mexican desert king snake and a goldfish are among a veritable Noah's Ark of 20 weird and wonderful animals and items that have been found in Scottish Water sewer network.

False teeth are also one of the most frequently found items – and in a sign of the times, mobile phones accidentally dropped down the loo or drains are turning up in sewers and sewage works.

Rob Mustard, waste water general manager, said: "Every year around £6 million of taxpayers money is spent by Scottish Water trying to fix these blockages and repair the damage. We dealt with over 36,500 choked drains last year and we need the help of the public to bring this number down.

"It's not a pleasant subject but unblocking clogged drains is even more unpleasant for our staff across Scotland. Don’t put cooking fat down sinks or drains and "Bag It and Bin It" is the message for items like sanitary towels and cotton buds - don’t flush them down the loo as they wreak havoc in our network.

The Top 20 list in full:

1) A live badger in a pumping station well at Drongan. The SSPCA rescued him and he made a full recovery.

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2) A live six-foot Mexican Desert King Snake at Dunfermline waste water treatment works.

3) A live goldfish, "Pooh", turned up at Philipshill waste water treatment works in East Kilbride and is now a permanent resident at the works after an employee donated a tank.

4) A sheep fished out of a manhole chamber.

5) A fully grown cow in the storm tank at Gatehead.

6) A deckchair.

7) False teeth - one of the most frequent items.

8) A platoon of toy soldiers appeared at the Troqueer works in Dumfries. They are now mounted on the wall in the office.

9) Mobile phones – these are getting found more often as they get smaller.

10) A live frog, recently found inside a pump right next to the propeller. When workers removed the lid he just hopped out and was on his way.

11) A pair of trousers at Kirkcaldy waste water treatment works.

12) An Action Man figure, still wearing his boots.

13) An orange that had been flushed down the loo.

14) Rings turn up frequently and are handed in to Police.

15) Watches also turn up frequently and are handed into Police.

16) A traffic cone.

17) A football.

18) A fully functioning clothes iron.

19) Timber – from a railway sleeper to small chunks of wood.

20) A parcel trolley.

This Top 20 pales into comparison with a story involving one of Scottish Water’s own workers. While out in the pub one night with his wife, he stuck his wallet in her handbag and the handbag got pinched. After stealing some money, the thief flushed the handbag contents down the toilet. Two weeks later, his colleagues in Dumfries found his credit card sitting on one of the screens at the works, having spent the last fortnight doing the rounds of the sewers.

In the case of large items – especially livestock – finding its way into the network, a major cause is manhole covers being stolen to be sold as scrap metal. Animals can fall into manhole chambers or tanks as a result.

Rob Mustard added: "Scottish Water is playing its part to improve the quality of rivers, watercourses and beaches for communities across the country. Rivers in particular are the lifeblood of so much of our inland wildlife.

"However, we need local people to play their part and help us protect our natural environment."

(GK)