Helena Dollimore, the prospective Labour parliamentary candidate for Hastings and Rye, joined campaigners holding a demonstration last Friday in protest over sewage being discharged into the sea along the south coast by Southern Water.
Members of Clean Water Action carrying red flags and placards declared "Enough is enough" as a huge turnout of supporters gathered at Azur Beach in St. Leonards. The protest followed several recent sewage releases along the south coast that led to beaches at Bexhill and Normans Bay being closed off. People were also warned not to swim in the water at Seaford in case of sewage washing up on the beach following heavy rain.
On her social media pages, Ms. Dollimore said: “There was a huge turnout for this protest against Southern Water dumping sewage in our sea. This Conservative government has been letting them get away with it for the last twelve years. On this sewage scandal and the cost of living crisis, the Tories are asleep at the wheel.”
A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “We’re very sorry about the failure at our Galley Hill site which caused a pollution incident last week. Protecting the environment is a key priority for us and cutting pollution incidents is one crucial task.”
In an attempt to tackle water company sewage pollution, the government is launching the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan this week, which hopes to address how water companies tackle the number of discharges of untreated sewage.
Commenting on the plan, Sally-Ann Hart, MP for Hastings and Rye, said: “This plan will mean water companies will face strict targets and must completely eliminate the harm any sewage discharge causes to the environment. The current use of sewage overflows is completely unacceptable and I will continue to push Southern Water to tackle them as quickly as possible.”
