Thames Water says Oxfordshire sewage discharge is unacceptable

Thames Water has said putting sewage into rivers is "unacceptable" but necessary after heavy rain

A water company has said putting sewage into rivers is "unacceptable" but "sometimes necessary" after repeated discharges.

There have been five releases at Witney Sewage Treatment Works (WSTW), in Oxfordshire between 21 and 28 December.

"Putting untreated sewage into rivers is unacceptable to us, but after heavy rain it's sometimes necessary and permitted," Thames Water said.

A campaign group said discharges are an example of using rivers "as a toilet".

In the last eight days, there have five separate sewage discharges at Witney, including one on Christmas Day. They happened at:

• 20:15 GMT on 21 December

• 14:15 GMT on 22 December

• 10:00 GMT on 23 December

• 09:45 GMT on 25 December

• 06:30 GMT on 28 December

Former singer of The Undertones, Feargal Sharkey, who is a renowned campaigner against the pollution of British rivers, tweeted that the Christmas Day release was taking place in a part of river that was designated for bathing.

A Thames Water spokesperson said the release of sewage "prevents it flooding homes, gardens, streets, and open spaces".

"With the help of the government, Ofwat and the Environment Agency, we're working hard to make these releases unnecessary."

"We are currently increasing sewage treatment capacity at a number of our sewage works across the Thames Valley, including Witney and Fairford to be completed by 2025."

They added there are flood alerts for River Thames and local tributaries.

Ash Smith, from Windrush Against Sewage Pollution said the discharges in Witney were "just another example of the water industry using our rivers as a toilet".

He said Thames Water's works would not address the issues with "broken" sewers in which "water is getting into them at this time of year, overwhelming the sewage works in a major fashion".