Sewage pumped into 31 London rivers for 7,000 hours last year

Sewage poured into London’s rivers for almost 7,000 hours last year, the Standard can reveal, as the Government came under further pressure to take tougher action against the firms responsible.

The Thames saw 769 toxic spills lasting a total of 3,286 hours — more than 136 days. The River Roding, which flows through Essex and London and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the Thames, had the second highest number of sewage releases in the capital at 237.