Willoughby Road in Ipswich has been closed until Monday so that emergency sewer repairs can be carried out.

The work is being carried out by Anglian Water to remove a large piece of wood which has been dumped into the sewer, two metres beneath the road.

Workmen have had to break open the sewer to remove the blockage, which is believed to have illegally dumped down a manhole.

Antony Innes, a spokesperson for Anglian Water said: “We apologise for the disruption this will cause. Our team will be working throughout the weekend to complete the repair as quickly as possible.”

“Illegal fly tipping like this is a very serious problem. The sewers are not a dustbin and should not be treated as one. Many things that are not flushable are dumped in the sewers – these can cause blockages which might lead to devastating sewage flooding.

“In this case, someone’s selfish actions have caused disruption for a large number of people in Ipswich. If we had not found this when we did, the problems could have been much worse.”