Manneken Pis no longer peeing water down the drain

Famed Belgian statue wasted 1,000 to 2,500 litres of fresh clean drinking water each day

For four centuries the celebrated Manneken Pis - the "peeing boy" in the local Dutch dialect - has embodied the laissez-faire culture of the Belgians.

But, to the surprise of officials in the city of Brussels, it has emerged that the bronze statue had been weeing fresh clean drinking water - 1,000 to 2,500 litres of it a day, sufficient for the use of 10 households - directly into the city's sewers.