Beaches across Britain issue pollution warnings

Swimmers have been advised to avoid beaches and swimming pools across England and Wales due to pollution from sewage waters. 

The south-west and south coast of England were the worst affected, according to data gathered by the environmental campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS).

Nine beaches in Sussex, seven in Cornwall, four in Devon, three on the Isle of Wight and three in Essex are amongst those polluted by storm sewage overflows after the recent downpours. Swimming spots in Lincolnshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Bristol and South Wales have also been affected.

There has been growing public outrage in recent years at the volume of raw or partially-treated sewage pumped into the UK’s rivers and coastal waters. Hugo Tagholm, the chief executive of SAS, took to Twitter to on Tuesday decrying the situation, describing it as “the shitstorm after the calm.”