Untreated sewage has been pumped directly into a rare chalk stream in the South Downs National Park resulting in the local rivers trust declaring the body of water “effectively dead”.

Southern Water has been dumping sewage into the River Lavant, which runs from the village of East Dean in West Sussex to Chichester, due to capacity issues within its sewage network.

The firm is deploying a technique called ‘over-pumping’, which is used when excess groundwater infiltrates cracks in the sewage system, risking wastewater backing up into peoples’ homes.