Southern Water guilty over beach sewage pollution

Beaches from Southwick to Ferring were affected by the pollution in September 2012

Southern Water has been found guilty of breaching environmental regulations after it pumped raw sewage into the sea in West Sussex.

The pollution closed 10 miles of south coast beaches over four days in September 2012.

Chichester Crown Court heard sewage was pumped into the sea after three pumps failed at East Worthing waterworks.

The company was cleared on Friday of two further charges relating to the proper maintenance of equipment.

The Environment Agency told the court that within hours of the untreated sewage being pumped into the sea a slick of pollution was visible.

Bathing beaches were closed to protect the public.

Southern Water said it was a major emergency and releasing the sewage was the "lesser of two evils" because otherwise it would have backed-up and flooded homes and Worthing Hospital, risking public health.

It will be sentenced at a date yet to be confirmed.

Following the verdict the company said: "We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to any customers or businesses who were affected by this incident."

It added it had since invested close to £20m on improvements at the site and installed back-up systems to help reduce the risk of a future emergency.