South West Water is fined nearly £8million for 'horrendous' sewage spills over six years

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 10:25 EDT, 29 September 2026 | Updated: 10:31 EDT, 29 September 2026 South West Water has been fined nearly £8million for a series of 'horrendous' sewage spills over six years. The water firm was described by a judge as 'reckless' after raw sewage poured into popular bathing spots across Devon and Cornwall between 2015 and 2021. It included Harlyn Bay where former Prime Minister David Cameron was pictured with his wife Samantha during a bucket-and-spade holiday in 2008. South West Water pleaded guilty at Plymouth Magistrates' Court to 18 charges, 17 of which were for illegal water discharge activities. Judge Jo Matson described the pollution as 'horrendous' and said the firm needed to make sure 'very significant incidents of pollution such as these never happen again'. The firm was fined £7,867,733 - £1.1million of which was for a single incident which happened in August 2019 when 'untreated sewage gushed through the harbour wall on a bank holiday weekend' at Cornwall's Polperro Harbour. It took South West Water ten hours to attend the incident despite alarms ringing out. It comes as Andy Burnham said today at the Labour Party Conference that the water industry was 'symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain'.South West Water has been fined nearly £8million for a series of 'horrendous' sewage spills over six years - including at the popular Harlyn Bay in Cornwall (pictured) Meanwhile, sewage was discharged into the River Camel in Cornwall more than 336 timesThe premier said 'it stinks' that the public are picking up the bill for 'sewage in our seas' and announced plans to 'repeal Margaret Thatcher's ideological ban on public ownership of water companies'.South West Water apologised in a statement following the hearing 'for what happened in the past'. An investigation carried out by the Environment Agency found that untreated sewage was discharged onto Harlyn beach 231 times between January 2016 and July 2021. While near Bodmin, there were 336 illegal spills at the firm's sewage works in seven years to March 2020. Judge Matson said: 'In this case there were hundreds of incidents of sewage spills on to our beaches and into our waterways and sea and untreated sewage gushed through the harbour wall into the harbour at Polperro on a bank holiday weekend.' The water company was also ordered to pay £329,993 costs and a £120 victim surcharge. The seven-figure fine is the largest South West Water has received and comes just months after it was ordered to pay £1.8million over a parasite outbreak that made hundreds ill in Devon.It was fined more than £2.1million in 2023 after admitting to causing pollution in Devon and Cornwall, with one spill leading to the deaths of thousands of fish that included protected species. Clarissa Newell, Area Environment Manager at the Environment Agency, said that 'hundreds of pollution incidents occurred at some of the most scenic locations in Cornwall and Devon'.She said: 'South West Water have promised the public that one pollution is too many, and our officers are out every day holding them to account.'Environment Secretary Angela Eagle said the sentence sent a 'clear message' that 'if water companies wilfully ignore their obligations, they will face the full consequences of their actions'.'For six years, South West Water repeatedly broke the law, polluting our most visited and loved beaches. Communities across Devon and Cornwall deserve better,' she said. It comes as Andy Burnham said today at the Labour Party Conference that the water industry was 'symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain'A spokesperson for South West Water said: 'These proceedings concern historic matters between 2015 and 2021 and the majority of the charges concerned the use of overflows in storm conditions. 'We're investing £760 million to tackle storm overflows and have reduced spills by 17% in the last year alone, with spill duration down by 25%. Significant improvements have been made across the sites concerned including an upgraded treatment process at Scarletts Well in Bodmin, the upgrades at Harlyn pumping station and the replacement of pumps at Halvarras pumping station. 'These upgrades also include additional investment in the catchment to remove surface water and illegal connections into the drainage network. 'We apologise for what happened in the past, and we remain focused on the future as we deliver record levels of investment to achieve cleaner rivers and seas across the South West by 2040.'