The Port of London Authority is continuing with an operation to remove a ‘wet wipe’ island from the River Thames

The mass of congealed wipes, weighing an estimated 180-tons and size of two tennis courts, is near Hammersmith Bridge.

In the first such project an eight-ton excavator is being used to dredge up the wet wipes and is expected to last for a month.

Environmentalists say the island has changed the course of the river and probably harmed its aquatic wildlife and ecology.

Wipes are a major problem and the public is being urged to remember the ‘three P’ rule of only flushing pee, paper and poo.