Beautiful UK beach plagued by syringes, sewage and dog waste given eco award

28 May 2024 , 10:55

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According to Top of the Poops, South West Water is polluting beaches most of any water company in the UK (Image: Unknown)

A beautiful Devon beach which has been swamped with sewage, plastic, dog waste and medical syringes has been handed an eco award.

When you grow up near the coast, the beach becomes your best friend. But being a child means you don't necessarily understand how clean the sand you're playing in is. Most of my childhood beach memories were made at Broadsands Beach, Paignton, in Devon which - while picturesque - has also had its fair share of sewage and waste scandals.

Roughly 10 years ago, my father was walking along the beach when he discovered hundreds of medical needles and syringes. After getting in touch with the Herald Express and featuring in the newspaper, the story quickly went quiet. What happened to the medical supplies, and whether they were used or not, remained unknown. Looking back now, the possible danger seems huge. What if they were used, or contained contaminated blood? Not only would this have had the possibility of health risks, but also damage to the environment.

Is your local beach a hotspot for sewage, rubbish or dog waste? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

A needle full of blood which was found on Trecco Bay beach in Porthcawl during a volunteer beach-clean (Alison Timms Lloyd)

This is my earliest memory of the issues going on at Broadsands Beach, which was then followed by years of seeing rubbish on the beach and hearing about sewage dumps. Remains of nearby crashed boats would rest on the sand, surrounded by seaweed. Dog waste would too often become disguised by other rubbish. The beach that I remember as so pretty during my childhood days was actually, often, far from it.

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Now, Broadsands has been named as one of this year's Blue Flag beaches — widely considered the gold standard for beaches and are internationally recognised. But I can't help but wonder how a beach with over a decade's worth of issues can be considered the 'gold standard'. The Blue Flag status indicates that there is "no industrial, waste-water or sewage-related discharges should affect the beach area", but my experience of the beach is very different.

While waste companies are allowed to release sewage through "storm overflows" during periods of bad weather and heavy rain, it still doesn't sit right with me that an area marked as safe for swimming and marked as a Blue Flag beach, may have recently had a sewage dump. According to Top of the Poops, South West Water is polluting beaches across most of any water company in the UK. In fact, South West Water was responsible for 58,249 sewage overflows in 2023, equating to 159.6 times a day.

South West Water says that it cares for 860 miles of coastline, which it has successfully maintained for three consecutive years. The company is investing £850m in the region over the next two years, to tackle storm overflows. A representative from the company said: "The increase in the storm overflow spills this year can be accounted for by the amount of named storms and weather warnings in 2023. It’s clear we need to redesign our systems, which we are already doing."

For someone who loved splashing around in the water as a child, now as an adult I think I will just observe the view rather than risking my health by having a swim. Even if the water is being tested every 30 days.

The conversation of beaches becoming ruined by sewage has been going on for some time now, with many individuals protesting to local councils and the government for better water standards.

In addition to this, Broadsands sits within the area affected by the cryptosporidium outbreak, which has made over 46 people unwell. Although the beach is beautiful, the reality remains that historically it has had issues which could have caused danger to the general public. Even now the area poses a risk to residents, who just wish to have a glass of water.

What is more worrying, is the contrasting images it is giving the public. Is the water clean or not? The Blue Flag awards suggest 'yes'; sewage monitoring sites suggest 'no'. It may actually only be the residents of the area that use the beach regularly, who know the real and accurate answer. It just shows — outer beauty may be capturing, but it is the inner beauty (or in this case, the not-so-beautiful), that counts.

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Cyann Fielding