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Lynmouth swim race cancelled due to sewage release

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SWW said the release at Lynmouth followed heavy rainfall

An ocean swimming race had to be cancelled in Devon after sewage was discharged into a harbour for more than five hours.

Lynmouth's annual Richie Berry Cup Swimming Race was due to be held on Sunday.

However, organisers said they cancelled the event following the discharge from a South West Water (SWW) facility on Saturday.

SWW said the release at Lynmouth followed heavy rainfall.

It said reducing the use of storm overflows was a "priority", but added they were necessary to stop homes and businesses from being flooded.

Overflow systems release mixture of raw sewage from homes and businesses, and rainwater run-off.

According to the data available on the company's website, a pumping station overflow in Lynmouth was activated at 05:14 BST before it stopped at 10:48.

South West Water SWW WaterFit Live mapSouth West Water
The pumping station was activated for more than five hours

Race organiser John Arbon said he cancelled the event due to the potential health risk and it was now due to be held on 15 September.

"We were extremely disappointed," he said.

"We stood there and thought: 'What if someone gets sick?' We couldn't take that risk."

He said SWW needed to speed up planned investments in the area and "sort it out".

He said: "They need a massive investment now instead of saying they will do it at some time in the future."

SWW said it was investing "record levels" to reduce storm overflow use.

"We can confirm there was storm overflow activity in Lynmouth over the weekend following heavy, localised rainfall," it said.

"Storm overflows are pressure relief valves built into our network that are an essential way to stop homes and businesses from flooding during periods of heavy rainfall.

"However, reducing the use of storm overflows is a priority for us and we are investing record levels to do so.

"In Lynmouth specifically, we are investing over £4.25m to March 2025 to reduce the risk of environmental impact from our sewerage network and maintain excellent bathing water quality."

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