Water companies released raw sewage into England’s rivers and seas for a record 3.61 million hours last year, a slight increase on 2023.

Although the number of hours increased, figures released by the Environment Agency (EA) showed total spills were down.

Some spilling can be legal, but concern has been mounting amongst scientists about the harm that regular sewage spilling is causing the country’s aquatic life.

Water UK, the industry body, has previously apologised for the level of spilling and has committed to a programme of investment worth £104bn over the next five years.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.