Map shows beaches near Manchester to avoid due to ‘drain risk’ amid heat wave

Manchester is set to hit 27 degrees Celsius tomorrow as a rather delayed heatwave hits the UK.

Temperatures have risen to 25 degrees Celsius today (July 18) and will continue to rise tomorrow, with sunny spells and cloudy intervals expected. A health alert has been issued covering London, the East Midlands, the South East and East of England ahead of the warm conditions.

But for those planning to cool off by visiting a nearby beach, campaigners have created a map showing the worrying extent of Britain’s sewage problem, with many hotspots listed as potentially dangerous.

READ MORE: Met Office heatwave verdict as heat wave kicks off with health alerts issued across UK

Created by marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage, the map tracks sewage discharge and pollution risks across the UK in real time.

Lancashire’s St Annes North beach, just a stone’s throw from Manchester, is unfortunately on the list – with a warning against swimming due to its poor annual rating. “Water quality may be affected here by a number of sewage overflows which discharge into the River Ribble and estuary south of the beach,” the map states.

While there are no water quality alerts for Blackpool’s central beach, which is just over an hour’s drive from Manchester, a sewage overflow is discharging “directly onto the beach around the centre”. The Wharfe at Cromwheel in Ilkley was also given an annual poor classification due to sewage risk.

Complete list of beaches at risk of sewage

• Porthluney
• Instow
• Ilfracombe Wildersmouth
• Dunster Beach
• Burnham Jetty North
• Weston-Super-Mare Uphill Slipway
• Weston Main
• Weston-Super-Mare Sand Bay
• Southsea East
• Bognor Regis (Aldwick)
• Littlestone
• St Mary’s Bay (Kent)
• Clacton (Groyne 41)
• River Deben Estuary, Waldringfield
• Wolvercote Mill Stream
• Wallingford Beach, River Thames
• St Annes North
• Blackpool North
• Wharfe at Ilkley Stepping Stones (under investigation)
• Wharfe at Cromwheel, Ilkley
• Tynemouth Cullercoats
• Scarborough South Bay
• Bridlington North Beach
• Heach

“Appallingly, water users in the UK are as likely to fall ill from seawater as they were in the 1990s, with conditions ranging from sore throats and upset stomachs to serious illnesses such as gastroenteritis, hepatitis and E. coli,” said Surfers Against Sewage. “According to the European Center for Environment and Human Health, people who regularly swim or bodyboard in UK waters are three times more likely to have antibiotic-resistant E. coli in their guts.”

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