According to the Environment Agency figures, the site with the longest duration of spills was located in the coastal village Salcombe Regis, at a massive 8,772 hours and 30 minutes. Located in east Devon, the receiving body of water is the Salcombe Regis stream, which feeds into the sea on the south coast.

However, South West Water, which manages the site, says that it is investigating the cause of this. The water utility company adds that it is aware of several unauthorised connections to the sewer network that are contributing to the high level of additional flows. This includes highway road gullies with extensive road run-off. Extract from Albert Toth www.independent.co.uk