August 17, 2022 6.00 pm This story is over 19 months old

Pollution warnings in place at Lincolnshire beaches from sewage discharges

Three beaches in Lincolnshire with risk warnings in place
Cleethorpes Beach. | Photo: James Williams
By Local Democracy Reporter

Untreated sewage discharged into the sea around the coast has seen pollution warnings at almost 50 beaches nationally – including three in Lincolnshire.

Data from water companies by the Safer Seas and Rivers Service, run by the charity Surfers Against Sewage, showed discharges have taken place following heavy rain across the country this week.

It followed a spell of extremely dry weather, prompting Lincolnshire to be placed in drought conditions last week, and the weather flipped on its head on Tuesday as homes were damaged by extreme flooding in Market Rasen.

Many popular seaside resorts were found to have been contaminated by untreated sewage discharges into the water, including here on the Lincolnshire coast.

Three beaches in Greater Lincolnshire have pollution risk warnings in place. | Photo: Surfers Against Sewage

A map on the Surfers Against Sewage website flags up three alerts in Greater Lincolnshire for pollution risk warnings. One is at Ingoldmells, and the other two are by Grimsby and Cleethorpes in the North East area of the county.

Beaches along the south coast are worst affected, and it comes after water service regulator Ofwat opened an investigation into storm overflow spills and sewage dumps across the country.

The regulator called for more action as part of a national inquiry into wastewater companies, including Anglian Water, which covers Greater Lincolnshire.