Triathlon swimming leg cancelled over sewage fears

Organisers said the water was a safety risk

The swimming stage of an East Sussex triathlon has been cancelled due to concerns over sewage.

Organiser James Mitchell said he was forced to call off the sea swim leg of the 1066 Triathlon in Bexhill after event advisers warned the water had unsafe levels of pollution.

The Environment Agency issued pollution risk warnings on both Saturday and Sunday, advising against bathing in the seaside town.

Southern Water said: "Very heavy rainfall in the Bexhill area caused a storm overflow release on the 1 September, preventing wastewater backing up and entering people’s homes and businesses."

Tackling storm overflows was its "top priority", the water company added.

Mr Mitchell told the BBC the cancellation was "really, really disappointing".

"It was horrible for all the people who entered the event," he said. "They've spent months of training for this."

The yearly event at De La Warr Pavilion - which organisers say follows the route of William the Conqueror - was switched to a duathlon, with a cycle across the Sussex countryside and run along the seafront on Sunday.

Still, Mr Mitchell said around 20% of contestants dropped out because of the sewage concerns.

Mr Mitchell said sewage is having far-reaching impacts on the local area

"It's great for people to be able to exercise and do community events that involve the sea," he said. "It's a huge part of the the towns on the south coast."

"And that's just being taken away from people."

Mr Mitchell added sewage spills risked stunting the growth of the event, which boosted tourism and the local economy.

On its website, the Southern Water warned of a 2 hour and 12 minute spill at Bexhill in the early hours of Sunday morning.

It told the BBC there were no storm overflow releases at Bexhill in the days leading up to 31 August.

"We have a £1.5bn plan to slash the number of releases using nature-based and engineering solutions over the next ten years," the water company added.

Between 2019 and 2023, the water around Bexhill was classified as "sufficient" by the Environment Agency, graded one out of three stars.