Therese Coffey was under fire today after promoting new UK bathing waters – using a picture of herself standing next to a muddy estuary. 

The Environment Secretary tweeted a picture of herself on the River Deben estuary in her Suffolk constituency, one of four new official ‘wild swimming’ areas for the 2023 summer season.

[With Marigolds added by Owl for H&S reasons]

David Wilcock www.dailymail.co.uk (Extract)

But to coincide with today’s announcement she was forced to take a photo during poor weather at the site in Waldringfield, standing next to a muddy bank and churned-up water in the river, and below rain-filled skies.

It comes as the Government is under pressure to tackle the scale of pollution, especially sewage, being dumped in UK rivers and off the coast. 

Locals have reported discovering E. coli bacteria they say is from sewage, at a site only a few miles upstream of the new bathing waters.

Ms Coffey did not allow replies to her tweet but it did not stop other Twitter users poking fun at the image. 

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner quipped: ‘Not taking a dip yourself?’

The Environment Secretary tweeted a picture of herself on the River Deben estuary in her Suffolk constituency that is one of four new official ‘wild swimming’ areas for the 2023 summer season.

Nigel Pickover, a former editor of the Eastern Daily Press newspaper in East Anglia, said: ‘Isn’t the Waldringfield site just a few swimming strokes downstream from the heavily polluted Martlesham Creek with its huge E. coli issues?’

In her original message, Ms Coffey said: ‘Four new designated bathing sites confirmed today, including Waldringfield on the River Deben in Suffolk Coastal – the first estuary site’…….