Damaged pipes blamed for surge in Hornsea sewage alerts

BBC News

13-05-2025

A water company says damaged pipes and broken valves are to blame for an increase in the number of sewage pollution alerts on an East Yorkshire beach. Data from Surfers Against Sewage shows there were 31 alerts in 2024, compared with four in 2022. Yorkshire Water said the alert system had been accidentally triggered due to two damaged outflow pipes and two damaged valves which had been letting in seawater. The company said it was spending £1.3m on repairs.
When investigating the spill alerts, engineers discovered ground subsidence had caused damage to two underground pipes. A plastic pipe was found compressed into an oval shape and a concrete pipe had partially collapsed, allowing groundwater into the system. Two damaged valve flaps were allowing seawater to enter the combined sewer overflow and accidentally trigger pollution alerts. Miles Cameron, Yorkshire Water's bathing water strategic partnerships manager, said the repair work on the beach was part of a wider five-year £300m investment programme along the Yorkshire coast. "It got Blue Flag status which is fantastic and gives bathers and customers the confidence they can come to Hornsea," he said. "This is really just about fixing a pipe to make sure it's there for many years to come."
Visitors to Hornsea told BBC Radio Humberside their confidence in beach cleanliness had diminished. Mally Armitage said he had not used the beach due to "the raw sewage that's been pumped into the ocean and the recent incident with the tanker", referring to a collison between a tanker carrying aviation fuel and a cargo ship in March.Jerry Ashton said: "You can't have inaccurate information otherwise there's no point having any information is there?"It doesn't worry me too much but, if I was a surfer, and we do have surfers here, or one of the ladies that goes swimming in it, then I'd be extremely concerned."
Yorkshire Water said the repair work would be completed by the end of June.Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.