Water firms admit sewage monitoring damaging public trust

Water companies should no longer be allowed to monitor their own levels of sewage pollution, the industry body has told the BBC exclusively.

Instead they are proposing a new, third-party monitoring system to build consumer trust.

The recommendation is part of a submission made to the UK government's independent review into the water sector.

Campaigners have long complained the companies' self-reporting has prevented the true scale of pollution in UK water being revealed.

A third-party system could add more pressure to the regulators, which have also been criticised for not holding the companies to account.