Ed Davey brands releasing sewage into waterways ‘a crime against nature’

The Liberal Democrats released analysis of figures that show water companies released sewage into English streams for 14,162 hours last year.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey (right) and Danny Chambers, the Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Candidate for Winchester & Chandler’s Ford (2nd right), during a local dog walk along the River Itchen near Winchester, a chalk stream which has been damaged by sewage discharges (Andrew Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, has called for tighter regulation to stop the releasing of sewage into rivers and seas which he branded “a crime against nature”.

The party has released analysis of Environment Agency figures that show water companies released sewage into England’s chalk streams for 14,162 hours last year.

And there were 2,240 incidents of sewage discharges into chalk streams by five water firms – Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water.