Hastings candidate meets ex-Undertones frontman and environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey at Labour conference

Helena Dollimore, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Hastings and Rye, met with former Undertones frontman turned environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.

He was a guest speaker at the event and Ms Dollimore thanked him for highlighting the issues faced by coastal communities heavily impacted by sewage dumping.

In August campaigners staged a demonstration on St Leonards beach in protest after Bexhill and Normans Bay beaches were closed for two days that month when sewage was discharged into the sea. Southern Water blamed a failure at its pumping station at Galley Hill.

At the protest, Hastings and Rye MP, Sally-Ann Hart was asked why she did not vote for an amendment to the Environment Bill late last year, which campaigners said would have stopped sewage being dumped into seas.

Mrs Hart said she voted for legislation to impose a ‘statutory duty on water companies to reduce sewage overflow and to invest in the infrastructure’.

On Sunday (October 2) another protest was held, this time on Bexhill seafront. Bexhill Seagals organised the event, inviting the public to join in a Mexican wave.

Labour shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon made an announcement that under a Labour government, the party could jail water bosses for the worst pollution incidents.

Mr Sharkey, speaking at the conference, said: “During the last two years alone, English water companies have spent almost six million hours on over 750,000 occasions, dumping sewage into our rivers and our sea. What we are witnessing collectively between industry and government is an unprecedented attack on the environment.”

Helena said: “Sewage dumping is an emergency and we need bold action. A Labour Government will put an end to this disgraceful practice, and clean up our water system."

Ms Dollimore said she welcomed a pledge to introduce a legally binding target to end 90 per cent of sewage discharges by 2030 and stronger sanctions and fines for bosses and companies who fail to do so.

Councillor Paul Barnett, Labour leader of Hastings Borough Council, said: “Our town relies on the tourist industry that our beautiful beaches bring, and the shocking conduct of our water companies is putting that at risk.”

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