Swimmers avoiding the water over fears of raw sewage on UK beaches

Concerns over water quality have discouraged a quarter of summer bathers from taking the plunge

Almost a quarter of the UK's sea swimmers may not take a dip in the ocean this year because of sewage dumping by water companies, according to a poll.

Sewage was dumped into waters near England's most celebrated beaches for nearly 8,500 hours last year, analysis shows. A separate review earlier this year found there were 1,504 discharges in 2022 on beaches supposed to be free from such pollution.