South West Water is warning cooks to take care about what they put down their drains this Christmas.

A medium sized turkey produces three quarters of a pint of fat and when put down pipes, it cools and could potentially block them.

South West Water’s Director of Waste Water, Andrew Roantree, said: ’By putting fat oil and grease down the drain, you might notice your sink or dishwasher isn’t draining as quickly, but it can also lead to flooding. Fortunately, this can be easily prevented by following our top tips.’

1. Scrape food scraps and fat off your plates and into your bin or food waste recycling.

2. Use a container to collect cooled fats, oils and grease from roasting trays and frying pans. Empty the container into your kitchen bin, then wipe it out with kitchen roll ready to reuse.

3. Put a sink strainer over the plughole to prevent any leftover bits going down the sink.

4. Give plates and pans a quick wipe with kitchen roll or newspaper to remove any liquid fat or grease before putting in the sink or dishwasher, or use kitchen foil.