Upgrades to a treatment site could reduce the amount of sewage being discharged into the sea during storms.

Southern Water said construction is under way at Halland Wastewater Treatment Works near East Hoathly, in East Sussex, to reduce storm overflows across the county.

The £1.9 million project, which includes building a new storm tank, means that the site will have more capacity.

This means the site will boost the number of flows it treats by more than 100 percent, which will reduce the need to use storm overflows.

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John Penicud, director of Wastewater Operations at Southern Water, said: "Storm tanks are one of a variety of important engineering solutions in our commitment to cut storm overflows.

"They provide extra storage capacity on site which fills during storm conditions, before later being released for treatment.

"This helps us keep these flows on site, rather than it being released into the environment.

“We’re delighted to get this scheme underway, as we continue to invest in our network for the benefit of our communities and our environment.” 

The company launched a £1.5 billion Clean Rivers and Seas Plan to reduce storm overflows last year.

The work at this site, which is being carried out by Ward and Burke, will be finished by next summer.