A 'HORRIBLE' historical connection between King Henry VIII and wet wipes has been made by Severn Trent.

The water firm revealed it can take up to 500 years to break down which can cause flooding in people's homes. 

The revelation means if the infamous monarch with six wives used a wet wipe containing plastics and popped it into the loo back in 1524, it would only be breaking down now.

The water firm is using the Tudor link to remind people to avoid potentially costly blockages by putting the wipes and other ‘unflushables’ in the bin, rather than the toilet.  

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World-leading legislation was recently announced by the Government to ban wet wipes containing plastics. 

In the past year, Severn Trent waste crews have managed and cleared 28,782 blockages, with one of the biggest offenders causing these issues being wet wipes. 

Other problem items include kitchen rolls, cotton buds, nappies and sanitary products.  

Severn Trent's sewer blockages lead Grant Mitchell said: “I didn’t think we’d ever be able to connect Henry VIII and wet wipes together, but it just goes to show how tough they are and how that impacts the sewers. 

“The new Government ban that has been announced is an extremely positive step forward, but we still need to work together with our customers and only putting the correct items down the toilet will greatly improve sewer health, which will keep everyone protected from unnecessary hassle of blockages. 

“We are continuing to urge everyone to keep in mind that only the three P’s should be put down the toilet – pee, poo and paper.”