An MP has urged the government to intensify efforts to improve the quality of bathing waters.
Stuart Anderson, who represents South Shropshire, was responding to the latest figures from the Environment Agency.
He said: “Our bathing waters in South Shropshire bring so much joy to both residents and visitors so I am greatly concerned that raw sewage was discharged into England’s rivers and seas almost 300,000 times last year, while there were more than 1.87 million hours of sewage spills.
"The latest classifications also show that one in seven English bathing sites are still polluted, with only 87 per cent meeting standards for ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ classification.
"Although this is a slight improvement on 2024’s classifications, it has fallen from 90 per cent in 2023.
"Sadly, it includes the bathing site upstream of Dinham Bridge at the River Teme in Ludlow, which has been classified as ‘poor’ for a second year.
"This is despite huge efforts from the community and local partners to improve bathing water quality at the site."
Mr Anderson said that the figures show “sluggish improvement" and he has urged the government to intensify its efforts to clean up polluted waterways.
He welcomed a new pilot launched in March at Linney Riverside, which uses computer-controlled sampling to check bacterial levels daily rather than weekly - equipping the public with the latest information available on water quality at the bathing site.
The pilot was funded by the £3.75 million River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Project.
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