00:00Councillors are demanding answers after sewage was discharged into the sea following damage to a
00:06major sewer pipe in Middlesbrough. The incident led to swimming warnings affecting beaches between
00:12Hartlepool and Saltburn but the council says it was not informed until three days after the damage.
00:18The pipe fractured after contractors tipped several thousand tons of earth onto the pipework
00:24during a planned solar farm development. The Environment Agency says its water testing
00:29found no risk to bathers and described the advice not to swim as precautionary. Northumbrian Water
00:36says it acted to prevent the sewer system backing up and is planning a full replacement of the damaged pipe.
