A sewage pollution alert has been issued at a harbour as the sailing season gets underway.

Officials said they were "extremely concerned" about raw sewage which appeared to be coming from Southern Water's Appledram treatment works near Chichester Harbour.

Chichester District Council's environmental health department has advised sailors to take precautions when taking to the water.

The council is waiting for results from the Environment Agency about the levels of contamination before being able to give any firm direction to harbour users about the safety of the water.

Harbourmaster John Davis said that reports were received on March 14 of raw sewage entering the harbour.

He said there was a suggestion that Southern Water was making storm water discharges into the harbour as a result of high groundwater levels and run-off entering the sewerage system.

A Southern Water spokeswoman said: "The Environment Agency has been in touch with us to say there is a discharge going into the harbour.

"We are working alongside them to see if the discharge is coming from us and to find out where it is coming from.

"If it is us, then we will be working to fix it immediately."