SINGER Feargal Sharkey has hit out at a water company after untreated sewage was discharged into Windermere for eight days.

Due to recent downpours, two water treatment plants in the Lake District overflowed into sites that lead into Windermere.

Hawkshead Pumping Station discharges into Esthwaite Water and Near Sawrey Waste Water Treatment Works into Cunsey Beck, with sewage overflowing from Thursday, August 22.

United Utilities said overflows are 'designed to operate during heavy rainfall' - a statement that the former frontman of The Undertones strongly argued against.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, Sharkey said: "We live on an island in the north Atlantic, heavy rain does not count [as exceptional].

"The authorities have failed to intervene and enforce the law with any thorough enthusiasm or drive."

Read more: Feargal Sharkey was in attendance at Windermere protest | The Mail (nwemail.co.uk)

Esthwaite Water has been a grade one site of Special Scientific Interest since 1991 due to its invertebrate fauna and plants that have been designated as 'nationally scarce.' 

A spokesperson from United Utilities reiterated that recent statistics showed that 'more than double the amount of average rainfall' was experienced.

They added: "So far this year, August has seen more rainfall than in any other month and it is the fourth wettest of the 44 months since January 2021.

“Storm overflows prevent homes and businesses from flooding - we understand and share people’s concerns about their use, which is why we have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in recent years to reduce the number of times they operate.

"We continue to work with all organisations that impact water quality in the lake including farmers, septic tank owners, hotels, campsites, highways authorities and landowners to deliver the step change that we all want to see.”

The water company outlined that it will be working on the 'biggest programme of investment for more than 100 years' between 2025 and 2030.

At Elterwater, Hawkshead, Ambleside and Near Sawrey, plans are in place to reduce storm spills by 50% on 2022 figures.