Wet wipes are set to be 'eliminated' in Britain in the latest round of ministers' war on single use plastic.

Thousands of throw away wet wipes are flushed every year, bunging up sewers and polluting water ways.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who has already announced a string of world-leading measures to crackdown on single use plastic, will now turn his attention to the plastic tissues.

Wet wipes are set to be 'eliminated' in Britain in the latest round of Michael Gove's war on single use plastic

A Defra statement said: 'As part of our 25-year environment plan we have pledged to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste, and that includes single-use products that include plastic such as wet wipes.'

The announcement comes days after a study found piles of flushed wet wipes are changing the shape of the River Thames.

More than 5,000 had collected on a 116 square metre area near Hammersmith Bridge in west London.

This is the highest number ever found in a single place.

At Barnes, south-west London, so many have clumped together that they have changed the shape of the riverbed.

It has created mounds of waste visible at low tide.

Wipes get into the river via overflow sewage pipes after they are flushed down toilets

The wipes get into the river via overflow sewage pipes after they are flushed down toilets.

Thames 21, the charity that organised the pick-up, said Britons should widen the fightback against plastic to include wet wipes and sanitary products, which cannot biodegrade as they also contain plastic.

Tim Evans, CEO and founder of a biodegradable consultancy firm, said: 'The wastewater collection, conveyance and treatment system is for things that biodegrade fairly quickly.

'Wetwipes, tights, knickers, condoms, plastic cottonbuds, etc don't biodegrade.

'The best that can be hoped for if these get into a sewer is that they get all the way to the treatment works without snagging on anything and at the works they can be screened (sieved) out, then go to landfill or incineration.

'It would have been better if they had gone into the solid waste system in the first place.'