THE Environment Agency has warned against swimming in the sea after a beach was flooded with raw sewage.

Bulverhythe beach in Hastings will be shut until further notice after a pipe carrying upward of 540 litres per second of sewage burst, flooding the area and nearby beach huts.

Specialist repair contractors and Southern Water employees worked throughout the weekend to repair the pipe, which was switched back on and allowed to leak again, to prevent flooding elsewhere.

However, the Environment Agency has advised against swimming at Pelham and St Leonards beaches because of a risk of reduced water quality due to the sewage.

Writing on Facebook, a Hastings Borough Council spokesman said: "Bulverhythe beach will remain closed until further notice following the sewage incident last week.

"The Environment Agency have advised against swimming at Pelham and St Leonards beaches because of a risk of reduced water quality due to sewage."

In July, Southern Water was fined a record £90 million after bosses admitted dumping sewage illegally thousands of times over a five-year period.

The company pleaded guilty to 6,971 unpermitted sewage discharges - the equivalent to one pipe leaking continuously for seven years.

Tonnes of sewage polluted rivers and coastal waters in Kent, Hampshire and Sussex between 2010 and 2015, a court heard.

Passing sentence, the Honourable Mr Justice Johnson said, of the formal 51 guilty pleas, that the company’s behaviour had been “shocking”.

The criminal prosecution followed a £126 million penalty on Southern Water in 2019 as a result of the company’s regulatory failings over the same period.