Hastings protesters from Extinction Rebellion stage 'toilet sit in' protest against sewage discharges in sea - pictures

Campaigners from the Hastings and St Leonards branch of Extinction Rebellion and the Clean Water Action Group held a toilet ‘sit-in’ on the beach by Goat Ledge Cafe, St Leonards.

It was the groups’ second such protest, as a similar one was held in March this year.

A spokesperson for the groups said: “We held the protest to show our disgust at Southern Water’s repeated discharges of raw sewage into the sea.

“Protesters sat on the toilets atop the concrete casing of the sewage discharge pipe, reading mocked-up newspapers with headlines such as ‘The Daily Discharge’ and ’The Daily Evacuation’.

“The stunt was part of a nationwide Dirty Water Campaign being held by Extinction Rebellion over the weekend of August 4 to 6. But despite the humour the message was serious. A report published by the Environment Agency in March showed that Southern Water released raw sewage into our rivers and coastal waters well over 16,000 times in 2022. Bexhill alone had 96 spills. Years of under-funding means that every time there is heavy rainfall, the antiquated sewage system struggles to cope, resulting in excess water being released into the sea along with the sewage.

“According to Surfers Against Sewage, a national campaigning group, there have so far been 256 alerts this year at the beach at St Leonards. In July alone, there were 12 sewage discharges reported at this location.”

Resident and former year-round sea swimmer, Maggie Alderson, said she has experienced serious physical harm from swimming in the water off Hastings beach.

She said: “When I saw my doctor about an ear infection in August 2022 the first thing she said was, “Are you a sea swimmer?” as she’d seen so many cases. The infection perforated my eardrum leading to serious hearing loss. I’ve had to have a very painful operation, which meant four weeks off work and I still can’t hear with that ear.”

Resident Jill Kaye, said: “I’m angry that I’m paying for the treatment of waste-water through my bill, and yet this company is failing to do its job properly. It’s not as if I can switch to another provider as there’s no competition. I think there is a case for renationalisation.”

A Southern Water spokesperson said: “At Southern Water, we play our part in improving the standard of bathing waters, through major investments in treatment works along our 700 miles of coast - and we are working hard to extend our efforts and partnerships with other agencies to make an even bigger positive impact. This includes an industry-leading approach to reducing the use of storm overflows when increased surface and groundwater enter our sewers.

“Thanks to further investment from our majority shareholder, we’re investing £3 billion (around £1,500 per household) between 2020 and 2025 and haven’t paid an external dividend since 2017, preferring instead to put our money into improving our network and infrastructure.”