Thousands of emergency overflows are not monitored for raw sewage discharge with information taken from only 10% of the total in England, a freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed.

Sewage discharge into UK’s rivers may be ten times higher than previously thought according to research by the Marine Conservation Society.

Save Windermere featured on ITV Evening News, 29 May 2023, following a demonstration to end sewage pollution on the Glebe in Bowness-on-Windermere, attended by celebrity supporters of the campaign; Steve Coogan, Lee Mack & Paul Whitehouse.

Save Windermere featured on Channel 4 Evening News, 29 May 2023, following a demonstration to end sewage pollution on the Glebe in Bowness-on-Windermere, attended by celebrity supporters of the campaign; Steve Coogan, Lee Mack & Paul Whitehouse.

Save Windermere featured on BBC Evening News, 29 May 2023, following a demonstration to end sewage pollution on the Glebe in Bowness-on-Windermere, attended by celebrity supporters of the campaign; Steve Coogan, Lee Mack & Paul Whitehouse.

Save Windermere featured on Good Morning Britain, 29 May 2023, ahead of a demonstration against sewage pollution on the Glebe in Bowness, attended by celebrity supporters of the campaign; Steve Coogan, Lee Mack & Paul Whitehouse.

The Financial Times has obtained official data revealing that only four water companies faced prosecution by the environment watchdog for breaching overflow permits between 2018 and 2022, despite the occurrence of hundreds of thousands of sewage spills during that period.

Eleven billion litres of raw sewage were discharged from a sample of 30 water company treatment works in one year, new research suggests.

Celebrities backing the Save Windermere campaign will attend a public demonstration on the waterfront next week.

Campaign founder Matt Staniek will be joined by Steve Coogan, Joe Lycett, Lee Mack and Paul Whitehouse at The Glebe in Bowness-on-Windermere on May 29 to host the demonstration asking for an end to sewage discharge into Windermere.

United Utilities accused of ‘making mockery’ by raising dividend in face of sewage spills and continuing leakages.

The decision by United Utilities to hand more than £300m to shareholders has prompted fresh anger over water companies’ multimillion-pound payouts, at a time when the industry is under pressure to spend more on tackling leaks and stopping sewage pollution.

Steve Coogan, Joe Lycett, Lee Mack and Paul Whitehouse have allied with Save Windermere to protect the World Heritage Site. Founder and Cumbrian zoologist Matt Staniek says the lake is under threat.

Ministers were warned about the dangers of private equity taking over the water industry in a briefing that has been kept secret for 20 years, the Guardian can reveal.