became blocked, causing food waste and dirty water to seep into the street.

Workmen were called in to attend the drains at The Porch, on Front Street, Hamilton, yesterday lunchtime after a blockage in one of the pipes prevented waste grease and food from being properly disposed of.

A spokesman for the bar and restaurant said the blockage was unavoidable and staff had no way of knowing a problem was building up.

He said one of the pipes coming from the grease trap, which is connected to the kitchen sink and is used to stop grease and other materials from entering the sewage system, became bunged up.

"It was a very small problem and it was dealt with straight away,'' he said.

"The grease trap was only checked yesterday and it was fine. There was nothing we could have done -- it is just one of those things. It hasn't happened before.'' He said the problem was rectified in about 20 minutes and the restaurant continued its business as usual.

Secretary of the Corporation of Hamilton Roger Sherratt said engineers from the corporation also attended to check out the blockage.

He said after the pipe got blocked, the grease trap filled up, preventing the contents of the sink to wash away.

Instead, they caused the drains in Chancery Lane to slightly overflow.

He said: "Obviously, there was a very bad smell. It has all been removed and cleared, but I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone who owns a restaurant to check their grease traps very regularly.

"They are all different and so need checking at different times and intervals, but if they are allowed to overflow there could be problems.''