Surfers and paddle boarders to protest against Scarborough’s sewage pollution this weekend

The protest will take place on Saturday May 20 at 2pm.

In Scarborough, up to six combined sewer outflows, which act as overflow valves to reduce the risk of sewage backing up during heavy rainfall, discharge into the sea.

Just last month, Scalby Mills Eastern Channel discharged sewage half a dozen times for periods of between an hour and a half and up to ten hours, reported the Yorkshire Post.

Steve Crawford, Scarborough’s Surfers Against Sewage representative, said: “Personally it’s because I’m fed up of Yorkshire Water’s continued failings and particularly, at the moment, the red flagging of South bay.

“The beach was closed with no warning to locals or businesses on the Bank holiday weekend and remains in a situation where bathers are being actively advised not to enter the water.

“I’ve been campaigning for a long time to try and combat the problems these companies persistently ignore.

“I’ve spent the past week trying to get to the bottom of who is responsible for the decision but there seems to be a corporate ‘blame the other one’ approach at the moment

“So one of the country’s most popular beaches is effectively off limits to the public….how awful is that?”

Recently, Scarborough’s North Bay beach received the prestigious Blue Flag award which shows the water quality is good to bathe in, whereas Scarborough’s South Bay received a red flag - which means the water is not safe to swim in, and advise is issued not to swim there.

The protest comes after Surfers Against Sewage held a survey which saw 4,000 UK residents say their trust in Yorkshire Water is at “rock bottom”.

Swimming in untreated sewage-contaminated water can bring significant illnesses such as stomach bugs that cause diarrhoea and/or vomiting, as well as respiratory, skin, ear, and eye infections. Sewage contamination can also cause kidney problems and death in wildlife, including fish and insects.

Surfers Against Sewage say: “Our sewerage system is at breaking point and is in desperate need of investment.

“But rather than spending money where it’s needed, water companies are stuffing their pockets with our money while failing environmental targets and pillaging our waterways.

“They continue to get away with regularly dumping untreated sewage into our blue spaces for millions of hours every year whilst regulators and government turn a blind eye.

“This needs to stop now. We refuse to spend another summer swimming in s**t.”

This morning, England’s water and sewage companies apologised over sewage spills that were dumped into rivers and seas.

Surfers, paddle boarders and sea swimmers are encouraged to head down to Scarborough’s South Bay and show their support.