Summer warning as UK’s worst beaches for sewage dumping are unveiled

If you are not heading abroad this year, a trip to some of the beautiful beaches right here in the UK may be on the cards.

The beaches of Cornwall and Devon give most European destinations a run for its money, according to some Brits.

However, you may want to avoid certain seasides this summer if you are planning a staycation. This is because new research has found that many popular beaches saw vast amount of sewage dumped into the ocean last year.

The recent study was conducted by the Liberal Democrats, who used data from the Environment Agency to analyse which beaches in the UK saw the most sewage.

And the new figures show that some of England's most celebrated beaches faced 8,500 hours of sewage dumping last year.

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1,054 sewage spills affected Blue Flag beaches in England - despite these beaches being awarded the title as a mark of recognition that it is deemed safe and has good water quality.

If you are looking for the worst beach in terms of sewage dumping, look no further than Blackpool Sands beach - which is funnily enough not in the north-west seaside town, but instead in Devon.

The Guardian reports that the beach saw sewage discharges by Southern Water happen 63 times last year, lasting a staggering 1,014 hours.

Unfortunately, another beach high up on the list is also in Devon - Meadfoot in Torquay.

This beach had 79 sewage spills, lasting 946 hours.

Meanwhile, Brighton Beach had 107 hours of sewage discharge, after 45 spills in 2022.

It comes as environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, announced a £1.6 billion water pollution plan with the aim of cleaning up Britain's waterways.

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However, the Liberal Democrats environment spokesperson Tim Farron is not convinced.

"Yet again, the Conservative government is taking the public for fools by re-announcing a wet wipe policy from five years ago," he said.

"This is a complete farce. The government is all talk and no action when it comes to protecting our rivers and oceans from foul pollution.

“The main cause of water pollution is the water firms. Ministers are still letting water companies get away with an environmental scandal and today’s pathetic announcement will do nothing to stop that.”

Farron added that Coffey should resign following stats surrounding sewage spills.

Topics: Travel, News, Environment

Callum Jones