Homeowner has a huge 100-year-old Victorian 'stink pipe' in his garden

The towering structure in Bob Henderson's back garden sticks out like a store thumb and has been there longer than anyone can remember.

It appears to be a narrow chimney from afar, but it's actually a 100-year-old Victorian 'stink pipe' that is still in use to this day.

Visible for miles, the 60-ft tall pipe lives up to its name - the smell stuck to a reporter for the better part of a day after climbing inside the structure in Stonehouse in Plymouth, Devon.

Retired history buff Mr Henderson told PlymouthLive that the red pipe is a Victorian sewage vent designed to release methane gas from the sewer below to prevent a nasty odour from filling homes.

The 60-ft tall pipe in Bob Henderson's back garden in Plymouth (Plymouth Herald)

Mr Henderson and his wife Wendy bought the house 25 years ago and her father owned it for 30 years before that .

While giving a tour to a reporter, he said: "What we're looking at is a Victorian sewage vent which was built at the turn of the century for venting off the methane gas from the sewer system below.

"It was a massive feat of engineering.

"This chimney would vent the sewage gas off, with a ladder going up to the top in case any birds ever built their nests at the top.

Mr Henderson takes a reporter on a tour of the red pipe (Plymouth Herald)

"The keeper at the time would have to go up inside, move them and any blockages."

Inside, it is filled with grime and debris and an odour that clings to a visitor's clothing for hours and makes it hard to open one's eyes.

But anyone who ventures inside and climbs up the ladder comes out looking a mess, covered in a combination of rust, residue and bird poop.

The interior of the Victorian pipe is filled with debris and grime (Plymouth Herald)

A reporter was coughing it up all night.

At one point, Mr Henderson teased while ascending the ladder: "Keep going, you wimp."

It was the first time anyone had been up the pipe in more than 50 years.

A reporter had to give up his quest to reach the top of the pipe (Plymouth Herald)

There are two resting platforms and it is very dark inside.

The reporter was forced to give up his bid to reach the top and enjoy the sweeping view due to the amount of grime and debris.

Dr Caradoc Peters, programme leader of the BSc (Hons) in archaeology at the University of Plymouth, said 'stink pipes' were part of the sewage systems of the Industrial Revolution, from the late 18th century onwards.

Mr Henderson and his wife Wendy have lived at the property for 25 years (Plymouth Herald)

He said: “They were developed to help ventilation in long underground sewer tunnels.

"Sewage systems had to be built on a much grander and integrated way than earlier centuries because urban centres were becoming overcrowded."

A spokesman for South West Water said: “These vent pipes were mainly constructed in the Victorian era when water traps were not fitted to domestic properties.

"They were designed to allow any build-up of gas in the sewer to vent through the pipes to avoid odours in people’s houses.

“The large brick-built structure  is the largest and is still in use.”