Warning about sewage entering waters in London's green spaces

Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, said: “The water from the Thames has been polluting our rivers and streams for years.

“After decades of underinvestment, their network is bursting at the seams, and our communities are the ones suffering.

“Beverley Brook is a haven for wildlife in south-west London, but with each new sewage accident we risk losing this special corner of London.”

She added that the previous Conservative government had “turned a blind eye to the crisis in the water sector for far too long”.

“Labour must urgently put Thames Water under special administration, clean up our rivers and start putting communities first.”

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “This Government will never look the other way as water companies pump record amounts of wastewater into our rivers, lakes and seas.”

“We will tighten regulation, crack down on water companies and start cleaning up Britain's rivers, lakes and seas.”

The Special Water Measures Bill will be an immediate step to “tighten regulation to put an end to the unacceptable destruction of our waterways,” the spokesman added.

These include new powers to “prohibit the payment of bonuses to water polluters and to prosecute notorious lawbreakers,” it said.

The Conservative Party has been asked for comment.