Water firm urged to cover charity fundraising loss

A councillor is calling on Yorkshire Water to compensate a charity after a sea dip was cancelled due to sewage discharges.

Hornsea Inshore Rescue (HIR) said it had taken about £2,000 less than last year after the New Year's Day event was cancelled over concerns for the safety of people entering the water following a number of untreated water releases.

Councillor Barbara Jefferson said she had written to the water company to ask it to make up the shortfall.

Yorkshire Water has apologised and said "storm overflows operate to relieve pressure when there are periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall".

Ian Worsdale, from HIR, said they had taken about £2,000 on the day compared to about £4,000 last year.

"It costs about £65,000 a year to run our independent lifeboat - so it is quite significant," he added.

Following the decision to cancel the event, swimmers were treated to a "hosedown party" with help from the fire service.

Jefferson said she had written to Yorkshire Water.

"They have apologised, [but] it shouldn't happen, and they need to do something about it," she said.

Sue Hickson-Marsay, from HIR, said she was disappointed at the cancellation but public safety came first.

"If someone did get poorly, which there is the possibility when things like that happen, then it's not going to sit well with us," she said.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: "We'd like to apologise to Hornsea Inshore Rescue and our customers for any inconvenience caused by the storm impact on our assets in Hornsea.

"Storm overflows operate to relieve pressure when there are periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall to prevent sewage backing up in the system and flooding homes and gardens.

"However, we understand frustration that the event on New Year's Day had to be changed.

"We have reached out to the team at Hornsea Inshore Rescue to consider how we may be able to support any future events, or fundraising initiatives."

The firm also said it was investing more than £1bn over the next five years to reduce discharges across Yorkshire.

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