Photos: Bognor Regis protestors stand up to sewage

The protest comes after a number of waste water releases were authorised across the South Coast earlier this month, with some of the most significant outfalls taking place in Bognor Regis, Felpham and Aldwick.

A spokesperson for Southern Water, which was charged £90 million for illegally discharging sewage into the sea last year, made clear the company is taking steps to reduce its reliance on discharges: “The (stormwater release) system protects homes, schools and hospitals from flooding but it is clearly no longer acceptable.

“Our Stormwater Taskforce is pioneering an approach which we believe can greatly reduce our reliance on the system. Working in partnership with councils and other stakeholders we are finding ways to cut rainfall out of the network using Southern Water engineering and nature based solutions.”

Protestors also signed an open letter to Bognor Regis MP Nick Gibb and Chichester MP Gillian Keegan, urging them to take active steps against Southern Water’s releases.

In a statement released this May, Mr Gibb said: “We need further improvements to the surface water drainage system as well as major investment by Southern Water, upgrading the sewerage system to reflect significant house building in recent years.”

His colleague, Mrs Keegan echoed that sentiment. Following last year’s court case, she called Southern Water’s conduct ‘shocking and unacceptable.’

From cold water swimmers angry about bathing water quality, to business owners worried about tourism, to environmental activists fighting for marine life, protestors had a range of overlapping concerns, but all of them agreed that more needs to be done to keep water companies in check.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve protested about this,” said Clare Franklin, of the Bognor Regis Bluetits, a local cold water swimming group.

"We took part in the Surfers Against Sewage protest last year, so this is about keeping people engaged and letting them know we can’t just stop. We have to keep fighting if we want to see change, so I’m really happy to see so many people turned out.”

"It’s a huge turnout, I really think it shows how angry the town is,” added protest organiser Heather Robbins. “But a protest is something you do when you’ve tried everything else, when there’s nothing else you can do, so in a way it’s also really sad. I don’t anybody wants to see our town so angry.”

"It's not just about the environmental angle,” added resident and sea swimmer Ellen Chesire. “It’s about the economics of the town. There are far fewer people on the beach on a bank holiday weekend, and these releases put people off. People can’t always go to the leisure centre at six quid a pop, they want to know it’s safe to come down here and swim. It’s about wellbeing and public health.”

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