Members of East Dorset Open Water Swimming Club were forced to cancel their weekly swim at Sandbanks in Poole, Dorset, after sewage was discharged into the sea, sparking anger among regular swimmers. Instructor Elizabeth Mills said the group was alerted via the Surfers Against Sewage app that Wessex Water had released sewage near their usual spot at Shore Road, with brown sludge visible in the water and one swimmer seen leaving the sea after noticing it. The club said safety concerns left it no choice but to cancel the session, and criticised water companies for being permitted to discharge sewage at a Blue Flag-rated beach.

Wessex Water confirmed four sewage discharges occurred at Shore Road on the Tuesday in question, attributing them to heavy rainfall entering licensed overflow systems, and said it was investing more than £8 million a month regionally to reduce such incidents, including sewer relining works at Shore Road. The episode follows wider concern about water quality on the Dorset coast, after two young girls, including eight-year-old Keeva Hollow, were hospitalised with campylobacter infections last month following swimming and paddleboarding in nearby Christchurch Harbour, and more than 500 people attended a public meeting to challenge Wessex Water and the Environment Agency over the state of local waterways.