‘It’s a national disgrace’: fury at sewage-filled Windermere over toxic algae and dead fish

Chris Taylor, a boat owner, stands among a green algal bloom on Windermere in the Lake District. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Observer

A short stroll from Beatrix Potter’s former farmhouse in the Lake District are the waters of Cunsey Beck, nestling in the breathtaking landscape that inspired the tales of childhood favourites Jeremy Fisher and Jemima Puddle-Duck.

Campaigners say the once clear waters are regularly blighted by raw sewage from a nearby works. New figures obtained by the Observer reveal the Near Sawrey plant is alleged to have illegally discharged untreated sewage on 56 days from 2021 to 2023.