Southern Water fined record £90m for deliberately pouring sewage into sea

Privatised firm dumped billions of litres of raw sewage off north Kent and Hampshire coasts to avoid costs and penalties

• Timeline: from privatisation to pollution fines
• The sea was milky white': how the scandal unfolded

Southern Water has been fined a record 90m for deliberately dumping billions of litres of raw sewage into protected seas over several years for its own financial gain.

Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson, sentencing the privatised water company, said it had discharged between 16bn and 21bn litres of raw sewage into some of the most precious, delicate environments in the country.