There have been multiple sewage spills along the River Dart after storm overflows were activated following heavy rainfall.

South West Water’s (SWW’s) alerts were posted on social media by the director of the Friends of the Dart charity, Hannah Pearson, warning that sewage was being dumped into the river Dart “along the whole river from up at Princetown to Dartmouth today (October 15)”.

There were at least 16 locations where storm overflows were activated, releasing raw sewage into the River Dart “in the last 24 hours”, according to SWW’s WaterFit map.

Storm overflows discharge excess sewage during heavy rainfall to prevent flooding, although SWW has previously said it was “working hard” to reduce their impact.

According to a recent report by the Environment Agency (EA), SWW was the worst water company for pollution incidents after performing “significantly below target” for discharge permit compliance.

It also had the worst ever record in the EA’s Environmental Performance Assessment.