‘Blatant disregard’ for UK beaches as 320 raw sewage warnings since start of 2023

Environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage logs real-time combined sewage overflows and pollution risk forecasts

More than 320 pollution alerts have been issued for UK beaches already this year, new data reveals.

Heavy rainfall in the first week of 2023 has seen raw sewage overflows inundate vast stretches of the UK coast, affecting the water quality on beaches from Blackpool and Southport, to Bexhill and St Helens.

On Wednesday alone, more than 65 areas along Britain’s coastline saw the sewage pumped out into their waters trigger water quality alerts, according to a live map.