A sewage stench which is plaguing residents of an Edgware street is being caused by a “mile-long fatberg” – an “iceberg” of fat.

And the smell is likely to continue “for the foreseeable future” according to Thames Water, as more blockages are being found as the cleaning team works along the piping on Camrose Avenue.

A fatberg is a solid, congealed mass made up of items such as cotton buds, sanitary towels, wet wipes and cooking oil.

Jack Welby lives in Merlin Crescent – one of the nearby affected streets.

“For some time now there has been a strong smell of sewage,” he said.

“My house is about 100 feet away from the sewage problems, and the work and the smell have been going on for weeks. I don’t know how long it will go on for.

“A reservoir was created in 2006 to deal with the sewage and flooding problems, as we had a lot of flooding at the time, but before this we haven’t had a problem for ten years.”

Sitra Sitaranjan, the Thames Water manager in charge of the project, said: “We’re sorry to anyone affected by the smell

“We’re working as fast as we can to tackle the blockage and clean the pipe but unfortunately this will take some time as the more we clear, the more we find.

“This problem has been caused by items in the sewer that should never be there in the first place – cotton buds, cooking oil, wet wipes.

“These all stick together like cement and block the pipe. Blockages like this can lead to people’s homes being flooded by sewage so it’s essential to remember; ‘bin it – don’t block it’.”