Surfers today accused Southern Water of gambling with the health of Brighton and Hove by refusing to upgrade its sewage treatment.

Campaigners from pressure group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) claim wastewater dumped in the sea could lead to swimmers catching Hepatitis A or E. coli.

The group is protesting outside Brighton Racecourse, where Southern Water is holding a three-day public exhibition detailing eight potential sites for its new multi-million pound sewage works.

The new plant will provide secondary level treatment, as specified by the Government, but SAS says that's not enough.

The group is calling on Southern Water to provide ultra-violet disinfection, or tertiary level treatment.

SAS Campaigns Assistant Richard Hardy said: "The level of sewage treatment they want to provide is scandalous.

"UV disinfection is already a safe bet and is used with great success by water companies in modern treatment works at coastal resorts across the UK."

The group has constructed a Wheel of Misfortune outside the racecourse and campaigners are asking the visiting public to spin.

Each segment of the wheel describes an illness they claim can be caught by swimming in secondary-level treated sewage.

Mr Hardy said: "It may be a bit of fun but our message is very serious."

Southern Water said the water treatment works would meet the conditions laid down by the European Union in its Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.

A spokeswoman said: "The European legislation asks for secondary biological treatment and we meet that. We work to the standards set by the Government.

"In all of the schemes we are proposing, adequate space has been allocated to ensure we can expand in the future, providing third-level treatment if necessary."

Brighton and Hove's daily wastewater output of 95 million litres is currently pumped into the sea through the Portobello long sea outfall at Telscombe Cliffs.

Whichever site is chosen for the new plant will need to accommodate a wastewater works and a sludge recycling centre to deal with solid waste removed during the treatment process.

The eight sites proposed are Shoreham Harbour, Black Rock, Lower Sheepcote Valley, Upper Sheepcote Valley, Ovingdean South, Peacehaven East, Brookside Farm Tip in Newhaven and North Quay, Newhaven.

The exhibition, part of Southern Water's public consultation process, opened at the racecourse at 2pm and was due to remain open until 9pm.

It will move to Hoddern Junior School in Peacehaven on Thursday January 16, Hillcrest Community Centre in Newhaven on Friday January 17 and Southwick Community Centre on Saturday January 18.