00:00We're not back in the 1400s or 1500s, 2026, and we want clean water!
00:06One of many angry protesters in Laysdown on Sea, calling for sewage to stop being pumped into the
00:13ocean. Organised by Whitstable SOS, a campaign group advocating for cleaner seas, it featured
00:19an all-star cast. From activists like Julie Morn, whose daughter died after contracting
00:25a call light on a beach in 1999. This is a public health crisis. To TV star Danny Dyer.
00:34You know, I just want to add my voice to it, as does my Danny, just to try and make
00:38a little bit of noise.
00:40And singer Becky Hill. So I'd like to say thank you for coming down and for raising your voices
00:45for such an important cause that affects each and every one of us. All with one shared mission.
00:50So today is again about gathering, getting our voices heard against the water companies to make
01:00the government take notice to ask for the whole water system to be brought back under our control
01:09and not to be run for profit. It was only in July that Southern Water was fined more than £7
01:14million
01:15for reported sewage pollution incidents on the Kent coast between 2019 and 2021. Yet protesters on the
01:23Isle of Sheppard want more than just fines. Many of them forced to give up swimming. They want the
01:28promise of cleaner seas. We regularly swim in the beach just down here and we are tired of washing out
01:37the poo of our swimming costumes. We have literally swum, we swam to Channel in the summer and we did
01:43lots of training and I can tell you front crawl head in I have literally swum through raw sewage.
01:50I used to go swimming in the water early mornings but since they started dumping sewage in it it
01:55used to become disgusting and it's not it's not good. My sister used to swim every single day
02:00and you can actually see the rocks on the seabed and see your ankles, your feet, it's lovely. Now I've
02:06only let my grandkids go paddle. The only water they go in is on the paddy and pull all my
02:11balcony
02:11for my children. I wouldn't let them hear it. I used to be an avid swimmer in the sea. I've
02:17not
02:17gone in there no more because it's filthy and disgusting with sewage. They put people off coming
02:22near it. It's a shame because we're a seaside result. Now I've got to have a lovely sea, wonderful view,
02:29but I won't go on the beach anyway. Inlays down on sea, Southern Water confirmed that there haven't
02:35been any storm overflow releases this year and that the water quality is currently listed as good,
02:41as well as having pledged not to pay any dividends until 2030 at the earliest. Southern Water's Director
02:48for Environment and Innovation said, we're committed to reducing storm overflows and are doing this
02:53through a 10-year clean rivers and seas plan worth 1.5 billion, which is already starting to make a
03:01difference. Southern Water say they're working to reduce the harm they've caused to seas and rivers,
03:07but until campaigners like Whitstable SOS can feel that difference, they've pledged to keep on
03:13them causing a stink. Megan Shaw inlays down on sea.
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