A water company has been ordered to pay a record fine of almost £8m for hundreds of sewage spills at popular bathing spots and sensitive habitats in Cornwall and Devon...

Sewage was also discharged into the River Camel, which is home to otter and Atlantic salmon and is popular with birdwatchers and sailors.

The company pleaded guilty to 18 charges, 17 for illegal water discharge activities and one for failing to take reasonable remedial measures after a failure at a pumping station...

Despite the company pleading guilty, the judge found that SWW had tried to minimise its role in the offending rather than being remorseful and accepting full responsibility...

SWW described the offences as “historic” and said: “The majority of the charges concerned the use of overflows in storm conditions. We’re investing £760m to tackle storm overflows and have reduced spills by 17% in the last year alone, with spill duration down by 25%. Significant improvements have been made across the sites concerned. We apologise for what happened in the past, and we remain focused on the future as we deliver record levels of investment.”