YORKSHIRE Water has been fined £7,500 after sewage was found in a beck which runs on to a North Yorkshire beach.

The company admitted failing to comply with its environmental permit when a fault at a Yorkshire Water pumping station caused sewage to be released into Runswick Beck, near the Blue Flag Runswick Bay bathing beach, on April 26.

Barrister Holly Webb, representing the Environment Agency, told Scarborough Magistrates Court that a member of the public alerted officers to sewage fungus visible on the bed of the beck.

The Environment Agency took water samples and carried out a biological survey of the beck immediately downstream of the pumping station, where it found dead snails and midge larva, with the only living creatures being pollution-tolerant worms.

Sewage fungus was still present in the beck when officers inspected it again on May 14.

Yorkshire Water said in a statement: “We take our environmental responsibilities seriously and would like to reassure our customers that we acted immediately to mitigate any issues following a report of an incident at our pumping station.

“We have since made a significant investment in the pumping station to ensure that, where possible, any event like this can be prevented in the future.

“We are committed to playing our part in improving the quality of bathing waters on the East Coast and are investing £110 million over the next five years to make them among the cleanest in Europe.”

John Sherwood, environment officer for the Environment Agency, said: “This was serious pollution of a beck which had an impact on the environment. Everyone has a duty to protect the environment and we will not hesitate to prosecute if an individual or company has failed in this responsibility.”

Scarborough magistrates ordered the company to also pay £1,581.67 in court costs.