Beaches in Bexhill and Normans Bay in East Sussex have been closed after untreated wastewater was released into the sea at the shoreline. Hastings borough council also advised people against swimming at Pelham Beach due to pollution. Southern Water said they were ‘deeply sorry’ and understood ‘the distress this causes’. The liquid, including sewage, was released when the primary power and back-up system failed on 17 August. A member of Bexhill SeaGals sea-swimming group believes water companies should be ‘held accountable’, adding, ‘It is unbelievable and outrageous that they can continue to get away with this’. The head of Surfers Against Sewage said, ‘Years of underinvestment are now in plain sight. It is time that huge water company profits were diverted to properly managing water and sewage and protecting people and planet. Our rivers and beaches should not be subject to this type of industrial environmental vandalism.’