Our seaside town’s top tourist attraction has been RUINED for the summer thanks to toxic sewage

RESIDENTS of a beautiful seaside town have been left fuming after their top tourist attraction was ruined for the summer thanks to toxic sewage.

Locals in Norfolk say their lives and livelihoods have been blighted by the loss of the coveted “Blue Flag” award in the wake of a water quality survey.

Angry residents blame the giant Anglian Water for pouring millions of litres of untreated sewage into the sea just a quarter of a mile from their golden sands.

Three of the region's beaches lost their status over their water quality in what will cause a knock-on effect to tourism, shops and restaurants.

And their fury rose when they realised that they can’t get the "Blue Flag" award back for another three years.

East Runton near Cromer, Norfolk, is one of the villages affected and has a 130 caravan holiday park overlooking the sea.

But the toxic sewage means that the community which relies heavily on tourists and visitors for livelihoods are fearing the worst for summer.

Local Clare Stagg, who helps out at the RNLI station in Cromer, said: "We are less than a mile away from the spot where Anglian Water pump out into the sea – and at times that water is untreated.

"I enjoy swimming off the beach here and at times the water has a film on it.

"But this downgrading of the beach’s status is a real blow – it will really damage the local economy.

“The village’s pubs and shop rely on visitors especially in the summer and if people shun us it will be a real blow to them. It is good to have a cleanliness and safety rating system – but it has to be fair.”

While Parish council clerk Barbara Emery said: "The water here is clean and safe enough to bathe in – and ironically the village next door which is less than a mile away has kept its blue flag.

“It may just have been that on the day they tested there had been an outflow from the water-treatment plant. But the loss of our Blue Flag could put a lot of people off from coming here.

"We rely on tourism and thousands visitors enjoy our beach every year – this will only have a negative effect and it’s the last thing we want.”

Further round the Norfolk coast at Sea Palling locals are also worrying about their downgraded rating.

We rely on tourism and thousands visitors enjoy our beach every year – this will have a negative effect and it’s the last thing we want."

Barbara Emery

Parish clerk Patsy Adams said: "We are very concerned. The problem here has apparently been caused by water treatment outflows and something needs to be done about it.

“We have lots of holiday lets and caravans here – the population doubles in the summer -  as well as a large number of daytrippers.”

Tourism brings in more than £500 million a year to North Norfolk and provides more than 10,000 jobs.

At nearby Mundesley council clerk Bev Reynolds said: "We are very proud of our beach and angry that we have lost our Blue Flag status.

“But we are just a mile from a  water treatment plant and there have been breakdowns which may explain the downgrading.

"But we feel very aggrieved about it – people will look at things like beach and water qualities and if they see we have lost our Blue Flag status they will simply go somewhere else.

“What make it particularly upsetting is that in the past we have won the ‘Best Beach in Norfolk’ award.”

One Norfolk local added: "I blame the water companies – its profits, dividends, huge salaries and bonuses that matter to them.” 

Recent statistics revealed that water companies pumped sewage into waterways for 1.75 million hours across the country last year – an average of 825 every day and much of the discharges end up in the sea.

'DISASTROUS'

Will Watson, who has run a busy fish and chip shop in East Runton for 17 years, described the Blue Flag loss as “disastrous.”

He said: “We have been robbed. There have been complaints about the water discharges nearby for years but nothing has been resolved."

And at the village’s Fishing Boat pub, barmaid Jane Day-Walker who has worked there for 13 years, said: "We are all very worried that this will put people off coming here.

"We are usually crammed in the summer but a lot of people may stay away by the Blue Flag being taken away.

“This is lovely  little village but we rely on tourists coming here - the beach is a great attraction and we have surfers coming from miles away. Pushing us down the ratings won’t help anyone."

The leader of North Norfolk Council has vowed to help win back the Blue Flag status of all three beaches after they were downgraded over water quality.

Cllr Tim Adams said: "We are working with Anglian Water and the Environment Agency to win back the coveted awards for the three resorts which have dropped from “Excellent” to “Seaside Award” status - and they won’t get a chance to win back their Blue Flag until 2025.

”We hope to win back the Blue Flags - but we still provide the other elements of Blue Flag status despite the water quality falling.

"All the locations have public toilets, RNLI lifeboat cover and an enhanced cleaning regime - and still have excellent beaches.”