Thread by @DailyMirror

The UK's most dangerously polluted beaches ⚠️☠️

[THREAD] 🧵

#Sewage

Swimmers are being urged to avoid dozens of popular beaches after heavy rain led to the release of #sewage ⚠️

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/u…

These include beaches in Cornwall, Devon, Sussex, Essex, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland and Cumbria.

❌🏊 Devon and Cornwall were particularly badly affected, with the Environment Agency separately advising against swimming today in many beaches around its coastline.

Video footage shows sewage being released into the English Channel at Seaford in East Sussex.

Dark grey water can be seen pouring into water just feet away from the popular nearby beach ⬇️

https://twitter.com/craddock1970/status/1559545091865411586?s=20&t=K7uc6iStqVlRMrjddexJWQ

Other beaches contaminated at popular resorts include Bognor Regis and Lulworth Cov.

🏄 Surfers Against Sewage said that the latest releases were “shockingly unsurprising” and a “horrifying sight” as thunderstorms have overwhelmed sewers as the heatwave breaks.

A spokeswoman for SAS said other pollution warnings in place may not be linked to heavy rain, and those visiting the coast are advised to check its interactive map on their website before they swim 🔍

https://twitter.com/HugoSAS/status/1559548261668716546?s=20&t=Exk8yYG508p-Ex2X-bMOWA

The most concentrated areas of pollution are across the south coast including Cornwall and Devon.

📍 Beaches on the Isle of Wight are also affected.

The Environment Agency has an interactive map where individuals can check the water quality.

🚫 It separately identified dozens of beaches where people should also avoid swimming.

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/u…

These kinds of discharges - which are legal - mostly happen after heavy rain, when there is a risk that pipes, which carry storm-water along with sewage, may overflow.

👉 This is only supposed to happen in exceptional circumstances.

But in 2020, there were more than 400,000 such incidents involving streams, rivers and the sea around the country, lasting a staggering three million hours.

📈 In 2019 there were 293,000 incidents.

Last year, Southern Water was also fined £90million after pleading guilty to 51 charges of releasing raw sewage in the 'worst case brought by the Environment Agency in its history'.

Read more here ⬇️

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/u…