Pictures taken from cameras inside the drain show huge a block of hardened concrete obstructing over half of the sewer pipe

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An emergency drainage crew will be working over the weekend to remove a lump of solid concrete that is stuck in a sewer in Cork city. Concrete was dumped into a drain on South Douglas Road which has blocked up the sewer.

Pictures taken from cameras inside the drain show huge a block of hardened concrete obstructing over half of the sewer pipe.

After the alarm was raised of a blockage on Thursday, Cork City Council drainage crews spent hours using high-pressure water jets to try and shift the concrete.

They also placed special cutting robots into the drain to try and break up the cemented lump of solid material. Cork City Council Engineer Simon Lyons said the crew's efforts "barely dented the concrete."

He added that the team may need to work "through the weekend to fix" the blockage of "dumped" concrete which is affecting the sewer near the Centra shop on South Douglas Road.

Mr Lyons explained that, because of the blockage, the sewage from the areas surrounding the South Link ramp onto South Douglas Road as far as the Centra shop now "has nowhere to go, except up.

"We have a suction tanker shuttling sewage from an upstream manhole, past the blockage, to a downstream manhole 18 hours a day at the moment."

It is not known yet where the concrete came from but council engineers plan to take some samples for testing once the blockage is cleared.

Simon Lyons told Cork Beo: "We plan to take some samples and have them tested to try to identify the concrete mix design, and see if that correlates to any concrete delivered in the catchment of the sewer."

He added, however, that finding the source of the concrete may be "highly misleading" and if it came from a private dwelling "we will most likely never find out."

He said it is important "not to speculate" until further testing is completed.

City councillor for Cork South-Central Dan Boyle said news of the concrete blockage in the sewer was "shocking."

The Green Party councillor added: "Nothing less than vandalism. Someone should be prosecuted."

Meanwhile, part of South Douglas Road will be closed over the weekend to facilitate the emergency work. Cork City Council said: "the inbound lane... will be closed between Ashdale Park and Loretto Park."

Footpaths and bus routes are unaffected.