THE South Lakes MP met The Undertones former-lead singer Feargal Sharkey for a campaign related to sewage pollution. 

Mr Farron met Sharkey, who has become known as a prominent campaigner against water pollution, as well as Surfers Against Sewage Hugo Tagholm, Tessa Wardley from the Rivers Trust and One Show reporter Lucy Siegle. 

During the meeting, Mr Farron said that there had been 960 illegal sewage dumps in the UK. He said in the same time period, there had been 1.4 million legal discharges for 10 million hours in the same time period. 

Water companies are allowed to discharge during times of exceptional rainfall to prevent the system from flooding. 

Mr Farron also raised the issue of six of the top ten longest sewage discharges in England last year happening in Cumbria. 

When this data was put to United Utilities, a spokesman pointed out that 54 per cent of the sewers in the north-west are combined sewers, which carry rainwater too. This is double the industry average of 27 per cent. 

It then said that the area receives 28 per cent more rainfall than the UK average.  

A spokesman from the company also said: "We have heard what people think about the use of storm overflows and we’re committed to delivering a real step change in performance. We are taking action now and have reduced the operation of storm overflows by a third since 2020, but we know there is more to be done." 

The water company said it will deliver £900 million of improvements to the network soon. 

READ MORE: Six out of ten longest sewage discharges happened in Cumbria

Speaking after the event, Mr Farron said: "I’m absolutely delighted to be working alongside Feargal Sharkey, who has been a vociferous campaigner on this issue for many years now.

“The dumping of sewage in our waterways has appalling consequences on our environment, on our local tourism economy, on our wildlife and on the health of people who swim in our lakes, rivers and seas." 

On May 18, the body representing the water companies Water UK apologised for sewage spills. It said that £10 billion will be invested into the biggest modernisation of sewers since the Victorian era. 

Ruth Kelly, chair of Water UK, said: “The message from the water and sewage industry today is clear: we are sorry. More should have been done to address the issue of spillages sooner and the public is right to be upset about the current quality of our rivers and beaches. We have listened and have an unprecedented plan to start to put it right. This problem cannot be fixed overnight, but we are determined to do everything we can to transform our rivers and seas in the way we all want to see.”