PROTESTERS SHOW HEART IN POLLUTION PLEA

CAMPAIGNERS gathered on a North East beach over water pollution and sewage concerns as part of an Extinction Rebellion action day.

Beach-goers, with support from community group Cullercoats Collective and the campaign group, Surfers against Sewage (SAS), came together to form a heart on the beach on Saturday in an effort to keep up pressure on Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency to improve water quality in the bay.

Last month, a beach warning was in place due to sewage flowing into the seas and Cullercoats was named as one of 15 popular beaches across the North East affected by the problem, which was reported by SAS, and came after heavy rainfall caused waste water to discharge into the sea.

It is understood that four years of investigation by Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency have located the potential source of the problem as the John Street Culvert, an underground tunnel that kept filling with ground water which then leached through natural faults in the rocks to pool on the beach.

Northumbrian Water have now connected the culvert to the main sewage system to try to remedy the issue. Results of Environment Agency tests are yet to be revealed.