New official figures have revealed record sewage spills in in England’s rivers and seas…3.6 million hours of waste dumped in 2023 compared to 1.75 million hours the year before.

Sewage works are sometimes overloaded during heavy downpours meaning waste sometimes legally flows out untreated but these occasions should be kept to a minimum.

This all begs questions about the regulation our privatised water companies who paid out £1.4 billion to shareholders last year, but are now seeking an additional £10bn from customers to deal with sewage.

Adrian Goldberg hears from Charles Watson, founder of the charity River Action and Johnbosco Nwogbo, from the anti privatisation campaign group We Own It.

Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg.

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