Sewer: Dame Kelly Holmes in Brighton for nationwide protests

Dame Kelly Holmes joined demonstrators in Brighton at a protest demanding an end to sewage discharges.

Thousands of people took part in demonstrations at more than 30 beaches, rivers and lakes across England on Saturday.

Speaking at the Surfers Against Sewage protest on Brighton beach, the Olympic gold medal runner said she paddled up the River Medway, which runs through Sussex and Kent, last weekend.

“But it was disgusting,” she said. “The smell, the color of it – I thought something was wrong.”

Dame Kelly, who is a keen paddleboarder, told BBC South East: “You come for a nice day on the beach, they put up red flags because the water is not clean enough.

“How is that fair? Isn’t it meant for us to enjoy?”

The situation was labeled a “scandal” by Labour.

Downing Street said it was “completely unacceptable” and the Environment Agency has the power to launch a prosecution.

But the number of sewage discharges into the country’s rivers and seas by water companies doubled last year to 3.6 million hours, compared to 1.75 million in 2022.

The Environment Agency currently has 22 advisories against bathing due to water pollution in England.

Dame Kelly addressed demonstrators in Brighton through a megaphone before leading dozens of people in a row.

At a surfer protest against sewage in Falmouth, surfers paddled out en masse while sea kayakers carried signs on boats calling for fish, not faeces.

More than 200 people entered the water at a wild swimming spot at Ferris Meadow Lake in Surrey.