SEWAGE has been dumped in the waters of two popular Dorset beaches following heavy downpours of rain this morning. 

Avon beach and Friars Cliff, both in Christchurch, have been affected by storm sewage being discharged from the sewer overflows shortly after 9am on Sunday, July 7. 

Surfers Against Sewage, the organisation that has reported the discharges, said the catchment areas including the Avon and Stour rivers may be affected. 

It’s understood Bournemouth and Poole’s beaches have not been affected. 

Recently published data from the Environment Agency shows sewage from storm overflows was flowing into water bodies in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole for 2,405 hours in 2023, during 444 spills. 

This was up from 953 hours recorded the year before when there were 336 spills in the area. 

All of these were from facilities operated by Wessex Water. 

The Environment Agency and Wessex Water said this rise may be partly due to the country experiencing its sixth-wettest year on record. 

New Labour Environment Secretary Steve Reed said “it will take years” to tackle the sewage and nature crises. 

 He said: “There is no sugarcoating it: we face a crisis point. Record levels of sewage in our rivers, lakes and seas. Nature is dying. Confidence amongst farmers at the lowest on record. 

“It will take years to reverse this damage, but the work of change begins now.” 

The Greens are also calling for Labour to bring criminal charges against water companies for persistent sewage dumping, make solar panels compulsory on all new suitable homes and introduce a “natural history” GCSE.