Monster hoax prompts rush of phone calls

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North west water company United Utilities has had more than 60 calls this morning from customers concerned about a creature in the region's sewers - following an April Fools' stunt.

The company released fake CCTV footage of a mysterious creature lurking in sewer pipes, in a stunt designed to warn households about the perils of flushing the wrong items down the loo.

The grainy footage is part of the water company's What Not To Flush marketing campaign, which uses school visits, advertising and PR stunts to encourage customers to think before they flush.

The campaign goes by the tagline "What you flush could come back to haunt you."

Many of the region's newspapers and media websites carried the story, prompting a rush of calls from customers.

The company's website received more than 15,000 hits this morning, and the topic is trending on Twitter.

Rose Francis, United Utilities campaign manager said: "The footage is pretty realistic, and many of the region's newspapers went to town on the story, running it in a really convincing way. It prompted a lot of calls this morning from customers - some wanting to congratulate us on a fun idea, and others wanting reassurance that the creature wasn't real. We'd warned our call centre that they may get enquiries, but didn't expect so many.

"The real monsters lurking in the sewers are the baby wipes, cotton buds and nappies which clog pipes and cause flooding. It's a big issue, as the resulting flooding can cause real distress for households, and pollute local watercourses.

"By using a bin in the bathroom instead of flushing waste, many of these flooding incidents can be avoided. What Not To Flush is designed to highlight the issue in an attention-grabbing and fun way."

Nearly 70 % of households in the north west admit to having put unsuitable items such as toddler wipes, sanitary towels, cotton buds or nappies down the toilet, while less than 20% have a bin in their bathroom to dispose of these items properly.