Peer calls for SWW to be prosecuted over sewage

APEER of the realm has called for South West Water to be prosecuted for not repairing its infrastructure after raw sewage leaked onto a local beach.

Lord Tony Berkeley, who splits his time between the Isles of Scilly and Polruan, has written to the Environment Agency calling for the utility firm to be punished for not carrying out repairs to its own pipes.

The call for action to be taken against South West Water follows reports of raw sewage being dumped into the sea at Polruan, on the other side of the river from Fowey – so much so that while the tourist season was in full swing last month, parts of the local beach had to be red flagged because of water pollution. The incident happened on the day of the Polruan Regatta which attracts hundreds of yachtsmen and women every year.

Lord Berkeley raised the issue and that of raw sewage being pumped into the sea at Cornish beaches on a far too regular basis in a short debate in the House of Lords earlier this month.

During the debate, the Labour peer said: “In the past week or two, South West Water has named 10 Cornish beaches as being unfit to swim off. I live there. It forgot my little beach in the village of Polruan, which is where I judge the sandcastle competitions every year. One day about a month ago, a great big flood of sewage came down onto the beach for several hours.

“It has just stayed there. People have videoed and reported it, but nothing has happened. Here we are, paying the chairman of South West Water more than £1 million to do absolutely nothing. It is time that some action was taken to clean up these beaches now.”

In his response to Lord Berkeley, Lord Richard Benyon, the under secretary of state for Defra, said: “The noble Lord is absolutely right that that is disgraceful.

“If it was an illegal sewage dump, which I am sure it was, that matter should have been investigated and should be prosecuted.”

Now Lord Berkeley is calling for the Environment Agency to take serious action against SWW so the sewage network is repaired and the sewage dump is investigated.

In a letter to Emma Howard Boyd,

It is time that some action was taken to clean up these beaches now LORD BERKELEY

chairman of the Environment Agency, he said: “I am sure that you will agree that this was an illegal sewage dump and, accordingly, I am taking the Minister’s advice and formally requesting the Environment Agency to investigate and, if the evidence confirms what we have found, to prosecute South West Water for allowing such a serious discharge of sewage onto Polruan beach. “This needs urgent action.” South West Water has been contacted for comment.

> Polruan, where the sewage pollution incident was reported