Cornwall pollution slick blamed on sewage, mud and run off

A lifeguard has described the "unbearable" stench of what he said was raw sewage which flowed on to a Cornish beauty spot beach.

A video showing a slick of polluted water was filmed at Trevaunance Cove near St Agnes on Sunday.

Local lifeguard Joel Henthorn said: "The water was grey and frothing and smelled of sewage."

South West Water (SWW) said a storm overflow was "triggered briefly" and other factors were also to blame.

It said: "This was a short duration spill and is unlikely to have caused the level of discolouration shown in the video.

"On this occasion, we believe there were other factors which contributed to the discolouration, such as mud in the water dislodged by the heavy rain flowing into the area from a nearby stream and run off from agricultural land."

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  • Cornwall