Over 270 hours of sewage has been pumped into beaches in the last day.

According to data from Southern Water, sewage has been pumped into Sussex shores for over 270 hours.

This comes after a week of stormy weather in the region, which can causes drains to overflow.

The largest overflow was at Pagham, where sewage was pumped into the sea for a total of 80 hours.

This took place at two sites from the early hours of the morning Thursday, November 3 until 6.00pm today.  

In order to prevent overflows, Southern Water has previously said that these releases happen to protect homes and businesses from flooding during periods of heavy rain.

A spokeswoman for Southern Water previously told The Argus: “Rain can overwhelm the combined sewer and drainage system which exists in many parts of our region.

"Storm overflows act as a release value and release excess water into the sea.

"These discharges are heavily diluted, typically being 95 per cent rainwater. There are around 15,000 storm overflows in England and approximately 1,000 in our region.”

But Surfers Against Sewage, a marine conservation charity, have previously said that these overflows occur when rainfall is not "extreme".

According to the charity, only six beaches are currently safe to swim in.

These are:

In the last 24 hours, there have been discharges at 14 bathing sites in Sussex.

This includes:

  • Hove
  • Shoreham-by-Sea
  • Saltdean
  • Seaford

Surfers Against Sewage in Brighton, Hove and Shoreham has urged swimmers to be wary.

On Facebook, it said: "Our ocean should not be a dumping ground. Shame on you Southern Water."