A woman who was left needing heart surgery after developing blood poisoning is one of hundreds to fall ill after swimming in the UK’s polluted waters as sewage spills reached a decade high last year.
Campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) received 1,853 sickness reports through its service app in 2024, with 331 people having to see a doctor and 79 per cent reporting that medical professionals had attributed their illness to sewage pollution.
