Sewage protest: Cornwall beach blighted by sewage 'for 26 days' with locals 'sick of it' as 'brown slick' visible in sea

A “delightful” beach in Cornwall, popular with holidaymakers, has been blighted with sewage discharges since 1 November prompting locals to protest over the “ongoing problem” that is “never resolved”. On Sunday 26 November campaigners from Portreath and Porthtowan Bluetits swimming group descended on Portreath Beach which they say had seen sewage alerts for 26 consecutive days.

Today (Tuesday 28 November) campaign group Surfers Against Sewage has also issued a sewage alert for Portreath Beach warning the public not to swim there, signalling that the discharge of raw waste is continuing. Portreath and Porthtowan Bluetits swimming group told NationalWorld that the group “all love Portreath, it is our local beach we all swim or partake in water sports all year round” but “it is being denied to us” and it “is detrimental to the reputation of Portreath, which has a top international surf lifesaving club.”

The swimming group said that until early this year the sewage alerts were never published and so users of the beach were “unaware of the disgraceful problem”. They added that for approximately 14 days in the early spring the beach, rock pool and a smaller hightide beach were also out of action due to sewage alerts and since that time until 1 November “there have been numerous sewage alerts”.

The group told NationalWorld they are “sick of the situation” and “frequently you can visibly see a brown slick going out to sea”. The group contacted South West Water but they declined to comment or offer an adequate explanation. 

A South West Water spokesperson told NationalWorld: “There has been permitted storm overflow activity at Portreath due to localised rainfall which has seen surface water entering and overwhelming the sewer network. We are actively reducing the use of storm overflows with strong investments across the region, and this includes around £150,000 of investment at Portreath Beach by March 2025 to reduce environmental impact from our sewerage network, and to contribute towards improving bathing water quality.”

However, the group has slammed the investment saying that it is “insufficient compared to other beaches with less significant problems in Cornwall” and it “is not happening until 2025 which shows no sense of urgency.” The group says they are in “disbelief that this still continues in 2023 with Portreath apparently being ranked the 31st dirtiest beach in the UK due to sewage spills”.

The Portreath and Porthtowan Bluetits swimming group listed to NationalWorld all of the campaigners who are protesting against the sewage releases at Portreath beach. Listed are the names of those who are involved in the consolidated response to South West Water.

• Wendy Miles - 68

• Rachael Tonkin - 68

• Sarah Woods - 35

• Jenifer Tonkin - 26

• Tina Dennett - 58

• Naomi Smith - 53

• Mandy Martin - 51

• Beth Roskilly - 45

• Alison King - 55

• Nikki Bowtle - 53

• Sue Pavey - 63

• Son of Sara Woods

• Cody Woods - 12

• Sue Jago - 76

• Terry Reynard - 69

• Heidi Langstone - 54

• Sharon Harvey - 60