The company in charge of water and sewage in the area has responded after hundreds gathered for a protest in Newbury over sewage seeping into waterways.

Thames Water is responsible for the distribution of water and disposal of sewage, which is made up of your toilet flushes.

The company has come under fire over ‘sewage discharges’ which involve wastewater being released into the river network, with recent incidents in Lambourn and Compton, in West Berkshire.

These events led to a coalition of campaign groups to stage a protest at Victoria Park, Newbury, on Sunday, April 14.

The rally was attended actor Jim Murray, politicians -including Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrats, North East) the leader of West Berkshire Council and the Red Rebel Brigade, a performing arts group that have become a site at environment demonstrations.

Reading Chronicle: Lee Dillon, the Liberal Democrat leader of West Berkshire Council at the protest against raw sewage pollution of rivers in Newbury on Sunday, April 14. Credit: John Sutton, Clearwater PhotographyLee Dillon, the Liberal Democrat leader of West Berkshire Council at the protest against raw sewage pollution of rivers in Newbury on Sunday, April 14. Credit: John Sutton, Clearwater Photography

Campaigns called the discharges into Berkshire streams and rivers ‘disgraceful’ and called on Thames Water for urgent action.

Responding, a Thames Water spokesperson said: “We regard all discharges as unacceptable and we have published plans to upgrade over 250 of our sewage treatment works, including at these affected sites.

“We recently completed a £5 million upgrade to Hungerford sewage works and we’re completing a £2 million upgrade at Kintbury.

“We also have plans to upgrade our Ramsbury and Marlborough sewage treatment sites.

Reading Chronicle: A member of the Red Rebel Brigade at the protest against raw sewage pollution into rivers at Victoria Park, Newbury on Sunday, April 14. Credit: John Sutton, Clearwater PhotographyA member of the Red Rebel Brigade at the protest against raw sewage pollution into rivers at Victoria Park, Newbury on Sunday, April 14. Credit: John Sutton, Clearwater Photography

“The overflows are designed to operate automatically when the sewer network is about to be overwhelmed by heavy rainfall, by releasing diluted wastewater into rivers, rather than letting it back up into people’s homes.

“Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus for us and we are leading the way with our transparent approach to data. We remain the only water company to provide live alerts for discharges to our customers and environmental groups.”

Thames Water is headquartered at Clearwater Court, Reading.