Sewage has been pouring into the sea just hours before people get into the water for this year’s Christmas Day swim.
On Christmas Eve, there had been six releases along the Sussex coastline waters in the previous 24 hours between Chichester and Bexhill, according to Southern Water.
The sites affected were Chichester Harbour, Pagham, Felpham, Littlehampton, Pevensey Bay and Bexhill.
It came just hours after the Liberal Democrat party called for an end to the practice of dumping sewage into seawater.
Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said there “needs to be a ban on sewage dumping in swimming areas”.
“The freezing cold water should be the only thing swimmers worry about, not sewage floating by them,” he said.
READ MORE: When is the Brighton Christmas Day swim taking place 2023?
“This is a real Christmas stink for so many hoping to enjoy their traditional festive swim. The freezing cold water should be the only thing swimmers worry about, not sewage floating by them.”
At the time of writing, there had been no sewage releases recorded in the past 24 hours in Brighton, which is good news for those hoping to take part in this year’s Christmas Day swim, scheduled for 11am.
Brighton’s swim is widely accepted as the oldest established Christmas sea swim, with people taking part since 1860.
Southern Water was contacted for comment.
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