A CAMPAIGN has been launched to change the 'misleading' advertising of flushable wet wipes after the product was found to be responsible for clogging up hundreds of toilets in Dorset.

A damning report has been presented to the Advertising Standards Authority calling to ban the word "flushable" as wet wipes don't break down like conventional toilet paper.

Wet wipes were responsible for more than 700 blockages in Dorset alone in the last five years.

The complaint – which comes after the Government confirmed plans to ban microbeads in cosmetic goods – is being led by Wessex Water and backed by City to Sea, Surfers Against Sewage, the Marine Conservation Society and Litter Free Coast and Sea, and calls for an end to 'misleading' branding and packaging.

Dealing with wipes has become a full-time job for water companies, and Wessex Water this week released video footage of the grim blockages one of its staff encountered in the space of a few hours.

Matt Wheeldon, director of assets and compliance for Wessex Water, said: “We frequently hear from customers who have flushed wipes which have then caused a blockage.

“As a result they have had their garden flooded with sewage and, in worst case scenarios, their homes flooded.

“These wipes are marketed as flushable but often we find they simply don’t break down and cause blockages.

“Some manufacturers claim their products meet ‘flushability protocols’, yet the reality is that they have made up these protocols themselves – not the sewerage companies who have the horrible job of unblocking the sewers.

“The unequivocal evidence is that wet wipes simply don’t break down quickly enough, despite claims that they do.

“Spend just a few hours with our sewerage crews, who work every day helping distressed customers who have blockages in their homes, and you will see for yourself the problems they cause.”

Dr Laura Foster, MCS head of pollution, added: “Wet wipes cause thousands of blockages every year. To find out that retailers are selling wet wipes labelled as flushable (including those which they also describe as moist toilet tissue or dispersible) but yet contribute to this massive problem of blockages – causing costs both directly through blocked drains under property but also through increased water bills – is unacceptable."