BBC Breakfast viewers were left outraged after a 'disgusting' news segment about fatbergs put them off their food.
Morning hosts Louise Minchin and Dan Walker shocked viewers of the show when they cut to a live report from Sidmouth, which focused on clogged up sewers in the area.
South West Water boss Andrew Roantree revealed that the situation had come as a result of a 64 metre fatberg made up of cooking oil, grease and wet wipes.
To the disgust of viewers, he explained: “Other items get flushed down the toilet, wet wipes other sanitary products, things we would say really shouldn’t go down the sewer. They get stuck together by the fat and grease and congeal over time and create these blockages.”
The programme then cut to clips of the fatberg build-up as scientists attempted to break it up.
Viewers took to social media to hit out at the show for broadcasting the footage during breakfast time.
One user wrote: “Piece about #fatberg in Devon on @BBCBreakfast - really important but yuck - I had to step out of the room to eat my cereal!!!”
“@BBCBreakfast not for those actually eating breakfast while watching as they fixate on showing disgusting items pulled out of a #fatberg - #bbcbreakfast.”
A third hit out: “Put down your cornflakes and catch the #Sidmouth #fatberg @BBCBreakfast at 0750. Yum! @SouthWestWater.”
Despite the outcry presenter Minchin did offer a brief warning ahead of the broadcast.
She said: “We’re going to Sidmouth in Devon for our other favourite story of the day. A team of scientists are trying to remove a - warning - fatberg. Huge lump of wet wipes, cooking fat and grease from the town sewers.”
Her colleague Walker then joked that journalist John Maguire at the site got the job “we all wanted”.
BBC Breakfast airs weekdays at 6am on BBC One.
