Brighton will today be named as one of Britain's worst polluters by the European Commission.

Along with Hastings, it is one of 12 UK locations blacklisted for pumping untreated sewage and waste water into the sea years after a deadline imposed by the EU.

Margot Wallstrom, the EU Environment Commissioner, will today name Brighton, Hastings, Portsmouth, Dover, Folkestone, Hull, Dundee, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Port Talbot, Torbay, and Bebington.

The survey says there are more offenders in Britain than in any of the EU's 14 other member states.

Only Spain, Italy and Greece are in the same league, although Germany and France failed to provide the relevant information.

Brighton and Hastings were named as failing to meet standards laid down for clean water by the EU's Urban Waste Water Directive in 1991.

Southern Water admitted the refusal by East Sussex County Council of its planned £60 million expansion of the Portobello sewage works at Telscombe Cliffs meant it was failing to meet all European standards. However, the company said bathing water did meet the standards.

Currently, sewage receives only the most basic treatment at Portobello before it is pumped into the sea through a two-mile pipe.

The expansion plan is currently the subject of a public inquiry, the results of which have not been released.

Des Turner, Labour MP for Brighton Kemp Town, said: "It is very unfair on Brighton because it is not the city's fault. It is perfectly true that untreated sewage is pumped out into the sea at Portobello through an extremely primitive and barbaric practice.

"It doesn't normally contravene bathing water standards in Brighton but it can under certain conditions. The upgraded works should have been in place and operational by 2000.

"The whole thing has got delayed because Southern Water did not prepare for it in time and because the furore over building at Portobello delayed the planning process.

"If they had stuck to their original plan to build at Newhaven we would not be in this position."

A Southern Water spokesman said Hastings met European standards last year. He said the EU's claims were "totally unfounded".

He said: "The expansion plans for Portobello follows Government guidelines stating existing sites should be chosen for expansion. East Sussex County Council refused us planning permission to upgrade the plant and this has caused a serious problem in meeting the standards.

"It will make Brighton the only resort in Sussex to have a problem in meeting the standards."

A spokeswoman for the Department of the Environment disputed the Commission's claims.

She said they were based on flawed science and stressed billions of pounds were being spent by water companies to meet EU regulations.

She said: "There is no raw sewage going in anywhere any more. We dispute the basis on which the report was compiled."