Burst sewage main down Cinque Ports Way, Bulverhythe Beach area, St Leonards. SUS-210730-104959001Burst sewage main down Cinque Ports Way, Bulverhythe Beach area, St Leonards. SUS-210730-104959001
Burst sewage main down Cinque Ports Way, Bulverhythe Beach area, St Leonards. SUS-210730-104959001

Work to repair St Leonards sewage leak continues as beach hut owners are contacted

Emergency repair teams will be working ‘round the clock’ until the St Leonards sewage leak is repaired, Southern Water said in its latest update.

Southern Water were first sent to a burst pipe under the cycle path at Bulverhythe beach, Cinque Ports Way on Wednesday night (July 28).

They remained in the area throughout Thursday, but on Friday there was a second serious sewage leak which is affecting beach huts and the beach.

As a result, the area has been cordoned off and will remain closed to the public ‘until further notice’. The Environment Agency has since warned people to avoid swimming at any Hastings beach.

Southern Water issued an update at 3.30pm on Friday, in which the company said it was contacting owners of the beach huts which have been affected by the flooding.

A spokesman said: “We stopped the discharge to the environment to Bulverhythe Beach at 9am today following the burst sewer main.

“Tankers are being used to take wastewater away from the site and to ensure our services to customers are maintained. We are almost doubling the amount of tanker resource available to ensure this can be maintained and we will be working round the clock until the repair is completed.

“We have resource plans in place for the weekend, using Southern Water employees and engineering teams, including specialist repair contractors.

“We continue to liaise with the local MP, Hastings Borough Council and the Environment Agency to ensure this incident is resolved, our repair is completed and we can restore the area as quickly as possible.

“Owners of beach huts directly affected by this sewer burst are being contacted. We will ensure that we restore the huts to their previous state and replace any items which have been damaged in this incident.

“Customer field teams and the community van are in the area from 8am until 6pm today and over the weekend.

“We will be carrying out litter picks on the beach this afternoon to ensure any debris is cleaned and the beach and its surroundings are restored promptly.”