Raw sewage was dumped into waterways in Kenilworth for over 185 hours last year, new data from the Environment Agency has shown.

Figures shows there were 73 counted spills of untreated sewage from storm overflows around the town in 2022, into Finham, Cattle and Canley Brooks.

Published on Friday (March 31), the data shows a 19 per cent fall in spills nationally, which the Environment Agency says is mostly down to dry weather.

Environment Agency executive director John Leyland said: "The decrease in spills in 2022 is largely down to dry weather, not water company action.  

"We want to see quicker progress from water companies on reducing spills and acting on monitoring data. 

"We expect them to be fully across the detail of their networks and to maintain and invest in them to the high standard that the public expect and the regulator demands."

The data shows the most spills around Kenilworth were recorded at Finham Brook near Dalehouse Lane - with 28 separate incidents amounting to 132 hours of spills.

Elsewhere there were a further two incidents near The Close, 23 into Cattle Brook near Warwick Road and 20 into Canley Brook near the University of Warwick.

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Across the constituency of Kenilworth and Southam, sewage discharge fell from 1,990 incidents in 2021, to 1,171 last year.

The figures, which include data from Severn Trent and Thames Water, show that there were 8,245 hours of sewage dumps in the area in 2022 - down from 20,558 the year before.

On Friday Severn Trent announced it has completed the installation of 100 per cent of monitor coverage across the region, as part of its "commitment to protect and improve in the health of the region's rivers".

James Jesic, director of operations at Severn Trent said: "Our hardworking teams continue to deliver strong results, with the goal of helping to make the region's rivers the healthiest they can be – both through redoubling our own efforts and investment and supporting others to also reduce their impact.  

"However, we're not complacent, and we know there's a lot more to do.

"Severn Trent operations currently account for 16 percent of the reasons why rivers aren't achieving good ecological status in the region, with 84 percent attributable to other sectors - we know that is still far too high - and we're focused on reducing our impact further and down to zero by 2030."