Inclined access assembly for a pipeline

An access branch assembly 1 for a pipe such as a water main or sewer 13 has an angled guide conduit 5 that provides a guiding path for feeding an elongate member into the interior of the main 13 through an aperture in its wall. The guiding path is at an acute angle to the axis of the main when the access assembly is attached to the main. The elongate member, such as a fibre-optic inspection camera, or cleaning tool rod, is therefore less likely to jam or to be forced through a shall radius of curvature on entry into the main. The assembly may include further guide conduits to aid with cutting an access hole in the main or feeding elongate tools in either the forward or reverse direction to the main. The assembly may comprise a saddle clamp 2 or it may be screwed into a threaded (tapped) hole in the main pipe wall (figure 4).