A fishing competition could be called off as anglers were hooking more sanitary products than fish, an organiser said. […] Andy Jones, from Shrewsbury Town Fisheries, said it could be cancelled this year as anglers were hooking more sanitary products and wet wipes than fish. Recent Environment Agency (EA) data showed water companies discharged sewage into rivers for 1.8m hours […]

Keir Starmer has accused the government of “turning Britain’s waterways into an open sewer”, as data showed raw discharges were sent into English rivers 825 times a day last year. Private water companies have been consistently accused of failing to take action, and the Environment Agency admitted there were more than 300,000 spillages into rivers and coastal areas in 2022, […]

Water companies released raw sewage into rivers and seas in England for more than 1.75 million hours last year. […] Water UK, which represents the water industry, told the BBC that this is the fourth year spill figures have come down and “companies are committed to building on this positive news”. Again, and amazingly, not a parody. The Environment Agency […]