Swimming in sewage used to be ‘acceptable’, says senior Tory MP

‘I remember as a child in south Wales swimming in sewage’, says Damian Green

A senior Tory MP has said swimming in sewage in Britain used to be regarded as “acceptable” – recalling his own childhood days paddling in wastewater.

Damian Green claimed attitudes towards sewage dumping have changed in recent years, as water companies apologised for polluting England’s rivers and beaches and promised change.

“I remember as a child in south Wales swimming in sewage,” he told ITV’s Peston. “Jackson’s Bay in Barry used to be a sewage outlet where we all paddled and swam.”