The dumping of raw sewage into British waterways has left fish being “full of cocaine”, a marine expert has said.

Professor Alex Ford, a marine biologist at Portsmouth University, told Good Morning Britain that the waters he analysed off the Hampshire coast contained drugs, contraceptive pills and antidepressants.

It comes as new figures fuelled more public anger over untreated sewage being discharged into the sea and rivers when the Victorian-era infrastructure cannot cope with heavy rain.

According to the Environment Agency, the number of sewage spills in England’s rivers and seas more than doubled in a year: there were 3.6 million hours of spills in 2023, compared to 1.75 million in 2022.

'Every single marine species that we've looked at so far is full of cocaine.' - Professor Alex Ford

Figures are expected to show last year was the worst for sewage spills in England since monitoring began.........

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