Water experts will track people flushing non-biodegradable wipes down their toilets in a bid to recoup the heavy costs of clearing blockages.
Northumbrian Water has invented a bizarre crane-like wipe catcher to hunt perpetrators and extract the wipes.
Once they have caught their suspect, blockage teams will pay them a visit, with fines of thousands of pounds or prison sentences of up to two years on the table for the worst offenders.
Enforcement officers will first scan the data to see which postcodes are the worst for clogging pipes before using the numbers to list some potential culprits.
In most cases, the clawing gadgets can then be placed by a manhole near a suspect's drainage pipes, allowing it to track where wipes start gathering and fish out the clogging material.
