A Tesco superstore on Portland that had to suddenly close yesterday due to a sewage flood has reopened its doors today (Thursday 25 April)

A spokesman for Tesco said: "The store is back open and trading as normal. Colleagues worked hard to get everything cleaned up and we’ve had deliveries this morning as usual."

After successfully working to clear the blockage that had caused the flooding at the Tesco on Portland, Wessex Water confirmed that it was caused due to people flushing wet wipes down the toilet.

A spokesman for Wessex Water said: "We have now cleared the blockage and it turns out that wet wipes were to blame.

“We worked hard this morning to clear wet wipes from a blocked sewer near Tesco in Portland, which caused sewage to back up into Tesco’s drainage system and the car park to flood. Our staff remain on site to help with the clean-up.

“Unfortunately our sewerage crews regularly encounter blockages caused by wet wipes, some of which are branded ‘flushable’ but don’t break down like regular toilet paper before reaching the sewers.

“That is why we always ask our customers to only flush the three Ps – paper, poo and pee – to avoid the misery and expense of a blockage at their home or a neighbour’s."

Wessex Water says that our sewers are not designed to cope with modern disposable products and as a result these items can cause blockages.

Around 75% of blockages involve disposable items and this costs British householders millions of pounds annually in plumbing bills.

The Tesco superstore was shut yesterday due to sewage flooding the car park.

It was reported by a man who lives opposite the supermarket on Alm Road that there were "major issues at Tesco Portland" and that the store had been shut due to the car park being flooded with sewage.

The resident said: "I popped over for some bread. They announced store closure then at about 9am.

"I could see the stores inside the shop were flooded and all spare staff were instructed to help remove stock.

"The store room inside was flooded you could see from where I was stood by veg section."

The resident said that the sewers apparently overflowing may be due to a blockage in the system.

"We had some issues in our new house yesterday with a toilet backing up. They checked main sewerage and found it completely dry top end of Park Road. Meaning major blockage.

"They fixed our loo and said they would have to get a specialist company in to unblock the mains. Clearly they never did.

"Whether this is connected I don't know but at a guess I would say it is."

Local residents saw Tesco staff blocking areas of the car park with shopping trollies this morning.

At least one other case of overflowing drains was reported on Portland, a drain near the Windmills was apparently also overflowing with sewage.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We have closed our Portland Easton Superstore because of problems with the drainage pipes in the car park. Colleagues are working hard to clean up store.

"We apologise for any inconvenience to our customers and hope to have the store back open as soon as possible.”

A Wessex Water spokesman said: “Our staff are working hard to clear a blockage that has caused the Tesco car park to flood, with a further team arriving to help with the clean-up. As yet the cause of the blockage is unknown.”