Surfers Against Sewage issue alert for two Norfolk beaches

Surfers Against Sewage has issued the warning for Gorleston beach, as well as Heacham and 81 other locations around the British coast after monitoring water quality.

The campaign group urged swimmers to avoid the areas, saying that recent heavy rainfall had caused pollution to flow into the waters.

DNA sampling is being used to trace the source of sewage pollution at Heacham Beach - Picture: Matthew Usher (Image: Matthew Usher)

Last month Gorleston was listed by TripAdvisor as the ‘best beach in the country', but Surfers Against Sewage said it should be avoided because of pollution which has entered the Broads and out to sea next to the beach.

It said: "A number of sewer overflows discharge into the River Yare that flows to the sea at the northern end of the beach."

Anglian Water says the issue relates to Combined Storm Overflows (CSOs), which are designed to protect homes and businesses from flooding during periods of heavy rain, by acting as a relief valve when the sewerage system is at risk of being overwhelmed.

A spokesman said: "There may have been a short CSO release when the system would have been processing a huge volume of water owed to the heavy rain and our teams are investigating this as a priority.

"While any CSO discharges will have been predominantly rainwater, our BeachAware system notifies the Surfers Against Sewage Safer Seas service as a precaution, so people can make educated decisions about swimming in the sea."

It comes as Norfolk County Council announced that bosses from Anglia Water will be quizzed at a scrutiny committee next month about incidents of sewage discharge and how they intend to prevent them in the future.

Surfers Against Sewage says swimmers should avoid Heacham beach. Its alert says: "Bathing not advised due to Poor annual classification."

An Environment Agency investigation into water quality at the west Norfolk beach, involving the collection of DNA samples, is ongoing.