The Environment Agency has slammed water companies - including Yorkshire Water - after a rise in serious pollution incidents.

The agency said there were 47 'serious pollution' incidents nationally last year – up from 44 in 2022.

Four companies – Yorkshire Water, Anglian Water, Southern Water and Thames Water – caused 90 per cent of those incidents, it added.

Alan Lovell, chairman of the Environment Agency, said: "This is unacceptable.

"My over-riding sense is one of frustration and disappointment.

"The results we see are, yet again, simply not good enough."

Responding to the comments, a Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: "Being rated as a two-star company in the latest Environmental Performance Assessment is certainly not the outcome we, or our customers, want.

"We have a robust improvement plan in place to reduce pollution incidents in the short and long-term, focusing on using new technology to improve visibility of the underground network so we can take action before issues on the network begin to impact the environment, and making improvements in self-reporting to further improve performance.

"Climate change and extremely wet weather in 2023, the sixth wettest on record, had a significant impact on the number of serious pollution incidents we dealt with in the 12-month period. The wet weather has continued into early 2024, posing further challenges for us in reducing pollution incidents to where we want them to be.​

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"Despite the fall in our overall rating, we are pleased to lead the industry in terms of wastewater treatment works performance and had one of the lowest numbers of total pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer, which is testament to the work of our teams throughout the year to deliver improved environmental performance."

Mr Lovell said the culture within some firms "can also perpetuate poor practices" and warned that the regulator will not take "bad weather" as an excuse for poor environmental performance.

He said: "Some simply do not understand the root cause of their problems and incidents are not reported in a timely manner – this is vital for improving transparency and trust across this sector.

"We know that with a changing climate, the country is going to experience more extreme weather patterns, increased rainfall and more rapid drought.

"Water companies must ensure that assets are resilient enough to withstand these challenges."

For its part, the Environment Agency said it would introduce a tougher regulatory approach.

It outlined plans for recruiting 500 additional staff, investing in digital systems, increasing enforcement activity and quadrupling the number of water company inspections to 4,000 before April next year.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed called the findings "shocking".

He said: "For too long, water companies have pumped record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. This Government will never let this happen again."

The new Government has announced plans to crack down on water firms, including tougher fines for pollution incidents and ensuring money is invested into infrastructure rather than paid out in bonuses.

"Change will take time, and we will outline further legislation to fundamentally transform our water industry and restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health," Mr Reed added.