Raw sewage pumped into sea along beautiful Cornish coastline

Raw sewage was pictured being released into the sea on a Cornish beach on Sunday in the latest incident of a swathe of water pollution events that have left many beaches unusable this year.

St Agnes Beach in Cornwall is well-known among locals and tourists for its beautiful scenery, charming village and great surfing conditions.

But its turquoise water was turned completely brown on Sunday morning after Cornwall's water company, South West Water, appeared to have allowed raw sewage to be released into the sea.

Footage online shows a huge mass of dark brown sewage on the coastline, which slowly mingles with the pale blue sea alongside it.

One social media user shared the photo with the caption 'Speechless'. 

Water companies in the UK have come under fire this year as millions of gallons of untreated sewage have been allowed to contaminate the country's seas.

Although it is illegal to dump sewage in many scenarios, if water overflows get too full then water firms have little choice but to allow sewage to enter the sea to free up space.

As of 5pm on Sunday, eight of Cornwall's beaches were unusable due to recent sewage releases, according to Surfers Against Sewage.

Regular sewage dumping harms the ocean's wildlife and creatures, but also poses a risk to humans due to the harmful bacteria it can carry.

In August it was revealed that water companies had spent more than nine million hours pumping raw sewage into Britain's seas and rivers since 2016.

Environment Agency figures reveal the staggering amount discharged into areas including tourist and bathing hotspots.