Herne Bay: Pollution warning and flooding after heavy rains

People have been warned not to enter the water between Sheerness to Herne Bay

Swimmers have been warned against entering the water along a stretch of Kent coastline after untreated sewage was discharged into the sea.

Southern Water has advised people not to swim between Sheerness and Herne Bay following heavy rains on Sunday.

The downpour has also left several homes and businesses in Herne Bay flooded, with residents reporting a "rotten" smell.

Southern Water said a "full investigation" would be held.

Canterbury City Council said it had become "disappointingly normal" for waters to be polluted after heavy rain.

"We share in everyone's frustration," a spokesman said, adding that the council was pushing Southern Water to "do all it [could] to minimise the effects of its operation on our coastline".

It is the second time this month that people have been told not to enter the water at Herne Bay after sewage was discharged into the environment.

Shop basements were flooded along Herne Bay high street

Tanya Rider, whose basement was flooded on Sunday morning, believes her home has been polluted with raw sewage.

"It stinks," she said. "It's just disgusting. We are swimming in waste water and there's kids in the house."

Debbie Bennett, one of the traders at Emporium in High Street, Herne Bay, said: "It's been a bit of a disaster.

"All these basements are knee-deep in water. All the furniture in the basement is damaged."

Despite the downpour, she said there was "no way this should happen", adding "we believe Southern Water is at fault".

Several homes in Mortimer Street flooded on Sunday

Southern Water said: "Flooding is a traumatic experience and our priority at this time is to minimise the impact on our customers.

"We're sending additional teams to the area to ensure we provide clean-up support as quickly as possible".

The company said it would conduct a "full investigation to understand what, in addition to the extreme weather, may have contributed to this incident".

Southern Water was fined a record £90m in July after being convicted of deliberately dumping billions of litres of sewage into rivers and seas.

New investors took a majority stake in the company earlier in August and pledged to reduce pollution.

The firm said Sunday's discharges into the sea were a result of "heavy rainfall in a very short period of time".

So-called storm overflows are designed to "minimise the risk of internal flooding to homes and businesses", and are "closely regulated by the Environment Agency", it said.