One of the UK's most beautiful seaside towns is being ruined by sewage that's pumped into the sea, residents fear.
Whistable in Kent made The Telegraph's list of best towns earlier this year, scoring an impressive 87/100 and coming in third place.
It is also a favourite spot for former adult actress Mia Khalifa, who regularly visits the UK. She has stayed there several times in recent years and once wrote on social media: "Whitstable > Miami."
READ MORE: Mia Khalifa reveals 'top 10 things she hates' – it's bad news for vegans and Europe
For the latest brilliantly bizarre news from the Daily Star, click here.
Anyone who has visited will know why the picturesque town is so well-loved. However, residents fear it is now under threat due to the amount of sewage that is being released into the sea by Southern Water.
Protesters will gather in the town on Saturday (September 23) in a bid to draw attention to the pollution levels. Among them will be singer Feargal Sharkey and comic actor Paul Whitehouse, Express.co.uk reports.
SOS Whitstable member Ed Acteson told Express.co.uk: “We (SOS Whitstable) are extremely concerned about the impact of the ongoing sewage pollution crisis on our town. It is extremely detrimental to the environment, poses a significant risk to public health and is damaging the reputation of Whitstable and our local businesses.
“We welcome promises of further investment in infrastructure by Southern Water but do not feel as though they have gone far enough or fast enough to this point.
“In 2022 Whitstable suffered the most storm overflow releases in Kent and they lasted for a combined 648 hours. This year we have already seen 595 hours of sewage and, with three months of the year to go, are concerned about how much higher that number is going to go.”
Whitstable is one of Southern Water’s six project areas where they are looking at solutions of storm overflows, with a number of interventions underway aiming to cut them by 20% by 2025.
Storm overflows are designed to release excess water through outputs to rivers and seas when heavy rain puts pressure on sewer networks, creating a flood risk. They act as relief valves when the sewerage system is at risk of being overwhelmed.
Jon Yates, Southern Water Pathfinder Delivery Lead for Kent, said: “Tackling storm overflows is our top priority and I can assure everyone in Whitstable that we’re fully focused on using every tool at our disposal to ensure that storm overflows are significantly reduced.
“We’re doing this through working with partners and creating nature-based and engineering solutions But this work will take time and our focus is to find what works and then scale it up across our region so we can see positive results.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
Source: Read Full Article