South West Water sewage pollution claim

Many people who live in the area or regularly visit the area will be able to join the claim, including if you:  

• Use the beach or sea or estuary at one of the affected communities for hobbies and leisure and have been prevented from doing so as a result of sewage  pollution. 
• Have a business that has been impacted by sewage pollution in one of the affected communities.  
• Own or rent a property in one of the affected communities. For example, if your property has been affected by sewage leaks onto your land, or into a waterway adjoining your land, or by disturbance from South West Water’s tankers.  

You can join thousands of people holding South West Water to account through this legal claim for their alleged pollution of the sea, beaches and rivers in the affected communities By joining, you become part of the legal action to insist that South West Water:  

• Stops the Sewage: Urge South West Water to stop allegedly unlawful sewage discharges by, among other things, investing in infrastructure. 
• Cleans up the beaches: Hold South West Water to account for its alleged role in the state of the beaches.
• Pays up: You could receive compensation for the impact on your life or your business allegedly caused by South West Water’s sewage discharges. 

The impact of allegedly unlawful sewage discharges on local communities is significant: 

• It makes the estuaries, beaches and the sea ‘no go’ areas for the public.  
• It disrupts hobbies and clubs (swimmers, rowers and surfers, to name a few) by blocking their access to the sea and the estuaries.  
• It harms the area's businesses, which rely on the sea, and the visitors who flock to the area for the beach. 
• Sewage and sewage tankers interfere with people's enjoyment of their property by causing noise and pollution. 

By joining the legal action, you will be part of over 1,000 individuals and businesses holding South West Water accountable for its alleged role in polluting your beaches, seas and estuaries.   

According to both South West Water’s own WaterFit website and the Environment Agency’s SwimFo website - South West Water repeatedly discharges large amounts of untreated sewage into bathing waters, which is having a detrimental impact on the  beaches and surrounding areas.  

The impact of these discharges is acknowledged by both the Environment Agency and South West Water, with the Environment Agency having issued numerous ‘Advice Against Bathing’ notices and even closing the beach altogether in recent years. On the back of these discharges, South West Water’s tankers allegedly cause widespread disruption. Residents of the affected communities are taking action against these alleged interferences with their rights to enjoy the prized coastal location and the unique beauty of their beaches. 

The community-led group legal action is being brought against South West Water.  South West Water provides regulated water and wastewater services to a population of around 1.8 million across the South West of England, in addition to having over 10 million visitors a year. Services are provided to over 800,000 homes and 70,000 businesses. Its statutory revenue for 2024/25 was £739.2 million.  

In 2024, South West Water was identified as the worst-performing company in the sector nationwide for pollution incidents, with 189 actual pollution incidents. That is equivalent to 108 sewage pollution incidents per 10,000 km of sewer. The national average is just 47 incidents per 10,000 km. 

As numerous members of the community allege in this claim, South West Water’s poor performance and its discharges of sewage in the Impacted Towns have caused considerable harm to the communities. For example:  

• Water sports enthusiasts and dedicated sea swimmers have had hobbies they rely upon for their well-being interrupted;  
• Businesses allege they have lost revenue; and  
• Residents report serious disruption from 24-hour convoys of waste service tankers brought in to remove raw sewage.  

This community-led claim against South West Water seeks to hold South West Water accountable for the harm it has caused.  

The claim is also being brought against Pennon Group Plc. Please see the below for more information about this Defendant.

Other relevant defendants may be identified as we continue investigating the claims. 

The community-led group legal action is also being brought against Pennon Group Plc (“Pennon”), the parent company of South West Water. Pennon is one of the UK's largest water and wastewater groups and owns a number of water businesses  operating across the UK. In its most recent financial year, Pennon derived around 70% of its revenue from South West Water’s operations. 

As South West Water’s parent company, Pennon is responsible for the group’s overall  strategy, governance, resourcing and risk management. All nine directors serving on South West Water’s board also sit on Pennon’s board. Pennon reserves to itself, in respect of all subsidiaries including South West Water, matters including risk management and approval or group wide policies and procedures. 

A Letter Before Action (LBA) is a formal letter which sets out the factual background to the claim and the legal basis on which it is brought. It is an important first step in litigation. The LBA was sent to the Defendants, South West Water and Pennon, on 6 February 2026.

The LBA sets out our clients’ claims, outlining the huge disruption they allege the Defendants have caused to their daily lives, hobbies, homes and businesses. The sewage pollution has significantly interfered with the lives and property of locals and regular visitors. In legal terms, the sewage has caused a public and private nuisance.

The Defendants have three months to respond to the LBA, indicating which factual and legal issues they accept or deny. This pre-action stage provides the Defendants  with the opportunity to engage constructively with the issues our clients face and work with us to avoid court proceedings. However, if the Defendants do not engage constructively, we will issue court proceedings and look to progress this claim through the High Court.  

If you are a client and wish to read a summary of the LBA, please contact us.  

Generally, only the polluters themselves can be liable in a civil nuisance case such as this one.  

Regulators such as Ofwat are not normally liable in private or civil law for failing to prevent private companies from causing damage. This private law action will seek to hold South West Water directly accountable for the harm it has allegedly caused to the environment and the surrounding communities.  

It is possible to challenge the decisions of Ofwat through judicial review. Leigh Day currently represents River Action in its judicial review challenge against Ofwat,  arguing that the regulator failed to properly oversee water companies and warning of subsequent price increases to customers. To find out more, please click here. 

This community-led group claim against South West Water is being brought following a development in the law.  

In July 2024, the UK Supreme Court delivered its judgment in the case of the Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd (Appellant) v United Utilities Water Ltd. Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in that case, it was generally considered that, without evidence of negligence or deliberate wrongdoing, water companies (such as South West Water) enjoyed “statutory immunity” from civil nuisance claims because of the Water Industry Act 1991.  

The Supreme Court’s Manchester Ship Canal ruling saw a change in the law, with the Supreme Court deciding that nuisance claims can be brought against water companies in a wide range of circumstances.  

This community-led group claim against South West Water will rely on the Manchester Ship Canal ruling to assert the Impacted Towns’ residents’ right to a legal remedy for the harm they have suffered. It is therefore a novel claim. Like all legal claims, particularly claims using new law, success is not guaranteed. However, our view is that the implications of the judgment are clear and that the claim has good prospects of success.

The community-led group legal action will argue that it is unlawful for South West Water to continue harming the region because sewage discharges cause a nuisance and interfere with the public rights of members of the local community to use beaches, the sea and rivers.  

Anyone who has been particularly impacted by the public nuisance has a potential claim. That might include people who regularly swim in the sea, or even those who rely on the beach for walks and walks with their dog.

Property owners and renters also have a legal right to enjoy their property without substantial interference from another party. For example, members of the community who have had sewage wash up on their land or whose fish farm has been harmed by sewage might be able to claim for private nuisance.  

Leigh Day will keep these claims under review as it gathers evidence. There might be additional claims against South West Water or other defendants, which may be added in due course.  

There are various options open to people who have had issues with sewage pollution.

If you wish, you may submit a complaint to the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency may investigate, and they could take enforcement action, which could include issuing fines or penalties, requiring the company to improve operations and/or taking legal action if they deem it necessary. However, the legal action would not be on behalf of a group of individuals.  

You may, of course, seek advice on your legal rights from a free legal advice service. It may also be worth checking whether you have legal cover included with any home insurance policy in your name. Such policies may sometimes provide funding for legal advice.  

Please note that Leigh Day is not able to provide individuals from the Impacted Towns with advice outside the group claim at this stage.  

We have provided a worked example below to illustrate how instructing us under a DBA works, where we act under a DBA on the same terms we are offering you in this case. 

Client enters into DBA for 35% of damages + VAT. Client wins their case and receives £10,000 in compensation. We also recover from the Defendant £2,000 towards our time costs.  

In the above example, the client will only pay £2,200 from the £10,000 damages / compensation received i.e., only 22%, which includes all monies due to Leigh Day (the DBA payment and VAT).

The DBA payment will never be more than 35% of your damages (excluding VAT), irrespective of the number of claimants within the group. There will also be an insurance premium payable if your claim is successful to protect you from having to pay any adverse costs to the Defendant if the claim is unsuccessful, but payment of this will be included in the DBA payment of 35% of your damages (excluding VAT).  

Once you have checked that you are eligible to bring a claim, we will ask you to read through our funding agreement and sign it. You will then be a client of the firm.  

Please note that £10,000 is a hypothetical compensation figure purely for the purpose of illustrating how a DBA payment works in principle.  

Civil legal actions, such as the present community group claim, are typically initiated  when someone has suffered a loss or harm, which is then quantified as a monetary amount. Whilst compensating claimants for their loss is important for some claimants, many claimants are also concerned with putting a stop to the high number of  pollution  events in the Impacted Towns. The legal action may be able to achieve this in the following ways:  

1. Compensation that the defendants may be required to pay should act as a strong deterrent against water companies polluting rivers and beaches in the future. In particular, it would send a powerful message to the senior management and the shareholders of South West Water that the cost of polluting is more expensive than the cost of doing the right thing.  
2. It may be possible to seek injunctive relief which would mean South West Water could be ordered by a Court to significantly reduce its polluting discharges going forward or clean up areas of the Impacted Towns. Alternatively, a court may order South West Water to pay compensation for future losses, which would act as a further deterrent against pollution.  
3. It may be possible to reach a settlement with South West Water in which they commit to carrying out the necessary improvements to the infrastructure.  

The pollution of the beaches in the Impacted Towns has allegedly affected the entire communities in these areas and will continue to do so. The more people who sign up, the more the claim will show the court how many people care about the Impacted Towns and the pollution. 

Remember, you do not have to be a property owner to join the claim. If you rely on the beaches or associated estuaries in one of the Impacted Towns for your hobbies, fitness, or business, then you can join the claim and seek an injunction to stop the pollution. 

A spokesperson for South West Water has publicly stated that they are investing up to £38 million in the Exmouth area by 2030, including in making upgrades to pumping stations and treatment works.  

Unfortunately, South West Water has made several statements regarding investments in the sewerage systems in Exmouth and the East Devon area; local reports suggest that many of these promises to invest in their infrastructure have subsequently been  reduced or not materialised.  

Similarly, South West Water ringfenced around £600,000 up to 2025 to improve bathing water quality at Longrock, yet in 2024, the beach experienced 97 sewage alerts issued by SAS / South West Water.  

A community-led legal action, such as the one you might pursue with Leigh Day, helps hold companies such as South West Water to account. Any amount a court awarded, including any sums awarded for cleaning up the area, would be legally enforceable - South West Water would have to act. 

If you have been impacted by the waste service tankers, you may be eligible to claim in private and/or public nuisance. Waste service tankers are large trucks used by a water company to carry sewage wastewater, sludge and effluent in the management and removal of waste from various sources, including combined sewage overflow pumping stations, such as the Maer Lane sewage pumping station in Exmouth.  

At the start of 2024, 240 truckloads of sewage per day were sent to the overflowing pumping station in Maer Road due to a burst pipe and subsequent sewage overflow. The tankers, as reported by the community, have continued to “plough through Exmouth” following another burst sewage pipe.  

The waste service tankers have been described by the clients as a continuous disruption because they allegedly block traffic, cause damage to roads and garden verges, increase pollution, create smells, generate brake dust and generate significant noise.  

Homeowners and renters have a legal right to enjoy their property rights without major interference from another party. For example, if you own or rent property on the tankers’ route to and from the pumping station, you may have a claim in private nuisance.  

Additionally, if you own a business and you can prove that your business has suffered a loss of income due to the disruption from the tankers, you may also be able to claim in nuisance.

We understand that people may have suffered health effects because of contact with sewage in the sea off the beaches in the Impacted Towns. Although the health hazard allegedly created by South West Water may well be highlighted as part of the claim, personal injury is not currently being considered as part of the community-led group claim. 

That said, if you have suffered a very serious personal injury as a result of sewage pollution, and you would like to speak to a member of the team, please feel free to get in touch with us by email at swwsewageclaim@leighday.co.uk to arrange a call. 

Where you have been impacted by sewage pollution over and above the way an ordinary member of the public has been impacted, or your property has been impacted, you may have a basis for bringing a claim. Relevant impacts include:  

• You can no longer practise your hobby, club sport or recreational activity that depends on the sea and the beach, for example, you can no longer swim, kitesurf, windsurf or walk along the beach due to sewage pollution.  
• You can no longer visit the area as you habitually do, owing (for example) to smells coming from sewage pollution, or because of disruption caused by South West Water’s waste service tankers. 
• Your local business has been impacted by sewage pollution, for example, because you are no longer able to run courses or rent water sports equipment for use in the sea, or because of a decline in tourist revenue.  
• You can no longer use your mooring spot or angling rights because of sewage pollution.  
• The home or business that you own or rent has been impacted by sewage pollution, such as by leaks of sewage on to your land or into a waterway adjoining your land or by noise from South West Water’s waste service tankers. 

By joining the claim, you may be able to seek remedial action. This means that South West Water could be ordered by a court to clean up the Impacted Towns and reduce its polluting activities going forward. In addition, the compensation that South West Water may be required to pay should act as a strong deterrent against companies polluting water in the future. In particular, it could send a powerful message to the shareholders of these companies that the cost of polluting is more expensive than the cost of doing the right thing.

The affected communities include the following: 

• Exmouth, Sandy Bay, Budleigh Salterton and Lympstone including the Exe and Otter Estuaries 
• Dawlish Warren, Dawlish Town and Dawlish Coryton Cove including the Exe Estuary  
• Sidmouth and Salcombe Regis including the Sid Estuary  
• Teignmouth and Holcombe including the Teign Estuary  
• Fistral Beach in Newquay including the Gannel Estuary  
• Longrock Beach near Penzance  

If you are live in an area that is not include in the affected communities but believe the area where you live has been affected by sewage pollution, please contact [swwsewageclaim@leighday.co.uk] and we can discuss this further with you.  

Generally, claims brought based on nuisance must be commenced within six years of the date on which the claimant suffered the loss, or if they only found out about the loss more than six years after the start of the nuisance, the date on which they became aware of the loss and its cause. This is known as limitation and if a legal claim is not commenced before limitation expires, it generally may not proceed.  

Please note that this summary of the limitation rules is very general; an assessment of your individual position depends on the facts of your case. Please use the online “join the claim” form to sign up. Unfortunately, we cannot provide individual advice during the sign-up process. 

We will bring these claims under a Damages Based Agreement (‘DBA’). You will pay no upfront fee for Leigh Day to represent you in your claim. Provided you have  complied with the terms of the agreement you sign with us, not cancelled it outside the 14 days window, or your case is lost, you will not pay for Leigh Day’s services out of your pocket.  

Oliver Holland is the partner on this claim. Liberty Bridge, Rosio Caffarelli, Benji Gourgey, Nicholas Smith and a team of dedicated paralegals, will assist Oliver in the day-to-day running of the case. 

There are two types of claimants who can join: 

1. Those whose public rights are being affected. 
2. Those whose private property rights are being affected. 

To be eligible to bring a claim, you will need to demonstrate that you have been particularly affected by sewage pollution in the Impacted Towns at some point since 2019. 

You may still be eligible to join if you were impacted before 2019 and the impacts continued after 2019. However, if you stopped being impacted entirely before 2019, you are not eligible to join the claim at this stage.  

Public nuisance

Examples of potential claimants whose public rights have been affected include the following: 

• You are restricted from practising your hobby, club sport, or recreational activity that depends on the sea and the beach. For example, you cannot always swim, windsurf, or walk along the beach due to sewage pollution. 
• You are restricted from visiting the area as you habitually do, owing (for example) to smells coming from sewage pollution or because of disruption caused by South West Water’s waste service tankers.
• Your local business has been impacted by sewage pollution, for example because you are no longer always able to rent water sports equipment for use in the sea, or because of a decline in tourist revenue. 
• You own a hotel, bed and breakfast or campsite, which has suffered a drop in bookings because of the widely publicised sewage pollution issues in in the Impacted Towns.
• You are an individual who used to regularly take your dog for a walk along the beach but is no longer freely able to because you fear your dog will fall sick if it is exposed to raw sewage or polluted water. 

Please note that the above is the eligibility criteria under which Leigh Day can currently enter into retainers with clients and is not legal advice. It does not necessarily mean that you do not have a valid legal claim, and other law firms may be able to assist you depending on your individual circumstances. 

Private nuisance

To join the claim for a breach of your private property rights, you must have permanently owned/leased a residential or business property or fishing/angling rights at some point in 2019. You may still be eligible to join if you were impacted before 2019 and the impacts continued after 2019.  

Examples of potential claimants whose private rights have been affected include the following:

The home that you own or rent backs onto a river which has been impacted by pollution.

• The home or business you own or rent has been directly impacted by sewage pollution on your land, such as by sewage leaks onto your land or into a waterway adjoining your land.  
• The home or business that you own or rent has been directly impacted by noise or other disruption from South West Water’s waste service tankers. 
• You have a shellfish or fish farm along the estuary that has been impacted by sewage pollution, which has harmed your fish. 
• You have a shellfish or fish farm along the estuary that has been impacted by sewage pollution, which has harmed your fish.  
• You are restricted in the use of a mooring spot that you own or lease because of sewage pollution.  
• You own or lease angling rights which are impacted by sewage pollution.  
• You are restricted in the use of a beach hut that you own or lease because of sewage pollution. 

If you have already signed a DBA with Leigh Day in relation to your claim concerning Exmouth or Budleigh Salterton, you do not need to take any further steps. Your existing agreement remains in place, and your claim automatically continues within the expanded group action.  

If you believe you have also been impacted in another of the affected communities, please contact the legal team. While your existing DBA covers your claim, we may need additional information from you to assess any further impacts you have suffered in other locations.  

Please email us at swwsewageclaim@leighday.co.uk or call us on 020 7650 1111 and we will advise you on the next steps.  

To join the legal action, an individual must have been particularly impacted by sewage pollution in at least one of the affected communities; you don’t need to live in the towns themselves and you only need to be affected in one area.  

For example, someone who lives a couple of hours away but can prove that they visit the area to partake in water sports might have been particularly impacted by pollution.  

Anyone who believes they have been impacted may complete the ‘Join the claim’ form today to check their eligibility, even if they do not live in the immediate vicinity of the beach in one of the Impacted Towns.  

Age is not generally a barrier to bringing a claim. 

However, in order to join the claim yourself you must be 18 or over. If you are below 18, you would need adult supervision to join the claim. An adult supervising a child’s claim is called a “litigation friend”. Currently we are not taking on minors as part of the claim group, but we will advise if this is a possibility in due course. 

To join the claim for a breach of your private property rights, you must have permanently owned/leased a residential or business property or fishing/angling rights at some point from 2019. You may still be eligible to join if you were impacted before 2019 and the impacts continued after 2019.  

Examples of potential claimants whose private rights have been affected include the following: 

• The home or business that you own or rent has been directly impacted by sewage pollution on your land, such as by leaks of sewage onto your land or into a waterway adjoining your land. 
• The home that you own or rent backs onto a river which has been impacted by pollution. 
• The home or business that you own or rent has been directly impacted by noise or other disruption from South West Water’s waste service tankers. 
• You have a shellfish or fish farm along the estuary that has been impacted by sewage pollution that has harmed your fish.  
• You are restricted in the use of a mooring spot that you own or lease because of sewage pollution. 
• You are restricted in the use of the angling rights that you own or lease along the estuary because of sewage pollution. 
• You are restricted in the use of a beach hut that you own or lease because of sewage pollution. 

Yes, you may still be able to claim even if you have sold your property either for harm suffered while you were the owner or if it can be shown that the pollution affected the value of your property when it was sold. However, you are not eligible to join the claim if you sold your property more than six years ago.  

You may still be eligible to claim for non-property-related impacts in other sections of the claim, depending on your circumstances.  

You may still be eligible to bring a property claim if you rent your property on a long-term basis.

Yes – surf schools and other water-based activity providers operating in the affected communities may be eligible to join the claim. Many such businesses rely on safe access to the sea and beaches to run lessons, courses and recreational sessions. Where sewage pollution has resulted in cancelled classes, reduced customer numbers, relocation of classes causing additional expense, reputational damage, or any decline in business income, surf schools may be eligible to claim for loss of profits and other business impacts allegedly caused by South West Water’s sewage discharges. 

If you run, own or are authorised to act on behalf of a surf school operating in one of the affected communities, you can complete the “join the claim form” to check your eligibility.  

Please note that if your surf school is not based in one of the affected communities, but you rely on the beaches in these area to run sessions, you may still be eligible to join.  

Sidmouth and the neighbouring village of Salcombe Regis sit within the Sid Valley on the Jurassic Coast, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Sidmouth, with its pebble beach and red cliffs, is a popular destination for sea-swimming, water sports, blue-flag bathing waters and events such as the Sidmouth Folk Festival. The quality of the marine environment is central to community life and the local economy. 

Sidmouth was reported to be a hotspot for sewage pollution in the national media as early as 2022 and in 2023, it was reported as one of the top 5 worst Blue Flag beaches in the country, alongside Exmouth. South West Water has acknowledged that the sewer network in Sidmouth is “struggling to cope” but improvement works, including increased storm storage have been delayed, prompting criticism from Owat.  

Sewage pollution has become a major community and political issue, having been described as “key” during the 2024 parliamentary elections. In the same year, there was an “outpouring of anger” in the community when the town’s annual sailing regatta and Surf Lifesaving East Devon Championships were cancelled owing to sewage overflow warnings and a pollution risk forecast.  

South West Water’s 2023 Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan identified Sidmouth as an “urgent risk”, with six storm overflows due to be improved by 2028. The same plan identified three predicted future flooding hotspots ,11.7% of properties in the catchment are at risk of sewer flooding and 71% of the CSOs in the catchment are “sub-standard”.  

Salcombe Regis has faced similar severe issues. Its sewage treatment works recorded the longest spill in the country in 2024, discharging for all 366 days of the leap year. In 2023, national newspaper reported that it spilt 223 times or “eleventh worst” in the country in that year.  

Teignmouth and Holcombe are neighbouring coastal communities on the South Devon coastline, with Teignmouth known for its sandy beach, historic port and lively seafront. Holcombe is recognised for its dramatic red-cliff coastline and peaceful beach. The Teign Estuary hosts an array of wildlife and is popular for fishing, nature watching and water sports activities. Together these form an important stretch of coastline where tourism, sea‑swimming, water sports and the marine environment play a central role in daily life for residents and visitors. 

Teignmouth has faced persistent sewage pollution issues in recent years, having lost is “excellent” bathing water status in 2022 following elevated bacteria readings taken by the Environment Agency. In 2024, the local MP, Martin Wrigley, reported receiving daily emails from local residents “furious” that they cannot swim because of sewage pollution, as well as dog walkers concerned about water quality. Teignbridge District Council also raised formal concerns with South West Water and the Government, warning that pollution was threatening tourism, the environment and local food production.  

Public frustration was high, with reports of some residents withholding water bill payments due to repeated bathing water alerts at Teignmouth, Shaldon and Holcombe. Protests were let in Teignmouth by Surfers Against Sewage in 2023 and one participant, a mental health support group, stated a third of their winter dips were cancelled because of pollution.  

South West Water’s 2023 Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan identified one external flooding hotspot in Teignmouth and five pollution hotspots across the network. Despite South West Water’s awareness of the issues in Teignmouth,  Holcombe and along the Teign Estuary, the problems persisted and between 2021 and 2025, Teignmouth experienced several major burst mains causing significant leaks and disruption, as well as repeated advice against bathing warnings. 

Fistral Beach, on the western edge of Newquay is widely regarded as the “home of British surfing”. With around half of Newquay’s 24,547‑strong urban population reportedly oriented toward Fistral rather than the town’s northeastern beaches, the area is a central hub for sea‑swimming, surf schools and major surfing events, forming a key part of the town’s identity and economy.  

In recent years, Fistral Beach North and South combined experienced 86 sewage alerts issued by Surfers Against Sewage and South West Water. South West Water has acknowledged that the beach is affected by shortcomings in the local sewerage network. These pollution incidents have had visible impacts on the community, including the cancellation of surf events, public complaints about advisories against swimming, and beach closures voiced by local surfers. 

The beach has also been the site of protests against sewage pollution. Infrastructure failures have affected the wider Newquay area as well. Media reports describe bursts discharging raw sewage into the streets, and the temporary closure of Newquay Zoo due to a South West Water sewer pipe issue. 

Longrock Beach sits between Penzance and Marazion and serves as the main “locals’ beach” for residents in Penzance, being the closest sandy beach to the town. It is estimated that 50% of the population of the urban area orient their swimming, walking and coastal recreations towards Longrock rather than alternative beaches in the area. The Beach boasts a significant stretch of sand and shingles, offering picturesque views of Mounts Bay and the popular St Michael’s Mount.  Its shallow waters make it a popular choice for families and windsurfers alike.  

Longrock has experienced some of the highest levels of polluton in the region. In 2024, the beach experienced 97 sewage alerts issued by Surfers Against Sewage and South West Water, following 98 alerts in 2023. In 2022, SAS identified    Longrock beach as “joint worst” in England for sewage alerts. The smell of sewage on the beach has been described as “sickening” and there are reports of illness after swimming in the sea off the beach. South West Water have acknowledged that Longrock Beach is impacted by shortcomings in its local sewerage network, though it seems the issues remain persistent.