A MAN has claimed he was stuck in Romford's sewer system for THREE DAYS after he fell down a drain.

Police were called to Essex last Thursday after locals heard his screams "like the invisible man", but couldn't work out where they were coming from.

7 This is the moment a man was pulled from Romford's sewer system Credit: Triangle News

7 The man claimed he had fallen into the sewer three days before he was pulled out, and wandered for SIX miles because he couldn't get out

Sam Palmer who works nearby at Big White Cube Vehicle Hire became aware of the man's plight after a neighbour heard his cries for help.

She told Sun Online: "We were looking up and all around. He just kept shouting 'help' over and over again but he didn't say he was in a drain."

Sam said it took cops around 20 minutes to figure out where the guy was, before they managed to pull him out pretty quickly. "It was pretty bizarre to watch", she added.

Speaking to police, the victim claimed he had fallen into the sewer in Barking, on February 5, and walked six miles for as long as 72 hours because he couldn't get out.

7 Police were called to Essex last Thursday after locals heard his screams coming from underground

7 As emergency service crew worked to pull the victim out, travel chaos ensued on Brentwood Road Credit: TRIANGLE NEWS

But Thames Water believe the unknown man entered via an exit of the surface water system on a new housing estate, about a mile away because they did not find any "broken manholes" that he could have fallen through.

Sam's colleague Muhammad Khan told Sun Online: "They'd pulled the man out and he was sitting looking confused on the pavement, wearing an aluminium jacket.

"You just can't imagine it, it's like something from a film. It's lucky they found him because it's been so cold recently anything could have happened."

Lorraine Moss said: “Initially, I assumed that someone had been run over. However, as I got closer I could see a man standing in the drain, only the top half of his body was visible and he was covered in dirt."

The victim appeared "dishevelled" after he was pulled out, but he left onlookers shocked as the first thing he said once he made a dramatic re-appearance on street level was, "does anyone have a fag?"

7 Locals gathered around the scene to witness the man being pulled out Credit: Triangle News

7 A policeman is pictured crouching over the drain Credit: Triangle News

A resident, who did not wish to be named, watched the man get pulled out and said it reminded him of the villain in Stephen King’s famed horror book, and film IT.

The system carries rainwater from roads straight out to the River Rom so the explorer had not come into contact with toilet waste during his journey.

Afterwards officers used the bathrooms at a nearby business to wash their hands following the mucky task.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We were called by the Metropolitan Police at 12:58pm to Brentwood Road, Romford, to reports of a man found in a drain.

7

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“We sent an incident response officer and team leaders in an ambulance. We treated him at the scene for ankle injuries and for exposure to cold temperatures and water.”

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “Officers attended and freed the 48-year-old man by removing the manhole cover.

“He was taken to an east London hospital for treatment to injuries to his feet. His injuries are not life threatening.”

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