People swam in this ‘pooey whiffy water’ moments before this picture was taken
Locals have been left ‘disgusted’ after filthy brown water flooded onto a beautiful beach in Cornwall.
Around two dozen locations in Cornwall have been impacted including Trevaunance Cove in St Agnes, Cornwall.
Video footage shows the brown water pouring out over the usual picturesque bay.
South West Water said the water is not sewage but run-off from agricultural land due to heavy rain.
But despite this a pollution warning is in place meaning people are advised to avoid the sea.
Eyewitness Steve Ridholls said: ‘It definitely has a whiff about it but I can’t be certain about what is in it, there must be some field run-off too.
‘We have this situation often. Local guys were going surfing but after seeing what was pumping into the sea, they changed their minds.
‘There is a vast swathe of dirty sea water from the shoreline out to around 250 metres right across the bay. It’s disgusting.’
Posting to Facebook, he said: ‘Disgusted to see this earlier today on our beautiful beach, washing into our seas.
‘I can’t be sure what else is in it, but it definitely had a pooey whiff.’
The South West Water warning on the beach says: ‘The condition of the bathing water may be affected by the operation of overflows.’
A spokesperson for the water company said: ‘We are aware of discoloured water in the sea at Trevaunance Cove.
‘The discolouration in the bay has been caused by run off from agricultural land.
‘Our teams have been investigating and we have images showing samples from upstream of any of our storm overflows.’
Locals were left horrified after Trevaunance Cove turned brown in October last year.
In extreme weather water companies are allowed to dump sewage in the sea but excessive sewage negatively impacts local wildlife.
It also poses a risk to humans because of bacterial buildup.
South West Water was fined £2.15million for illegally dumping sewage in April – the biggest fine ever imposed by environmental officers for the area.
The company was sentenced on 13 charges at Plymouth magistrates court and ordered to pay £280,000 and a £170 victim surcharge.
There were six charges related to illegal water discharge activities and seven for contravening environmental permit conditions.
But this fine does not relate to discharge at Trevaunance Cove.
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