POWER cuts behind two sewage spills are being investigated.

Electricity failures at Southern Water’s plants in Eastbourne and Newhaven led to sewage spilling into the sea on two separate occasions in recent weeks.

A spokeswoman for UK Power Networks, which supplies power in Sussex, said it was working with the water company to review the Eastbourne incident.

But it said the Newhaven spillage did not involved problems with its power supply.

A spokesman for Southern Water said power failures were “impossible to predict” but apologised for the incidents.

He said: “Our ongoing drive within Southern Water is how best we can prevent pollution incidents and improve our overall resilience while being as open and transparent with our customers as possible.

“No pollution is acceptable to our customers or us.”