Protest set to be held in North Tyneside over sewage pollution along the North East coast
North East water users are set to protest against sewage pollution.
Thousands of water users across the country are set to paddle out from the UK’s beaches, rivers and lakes in protest of the ongoing sewage pollution crisis in the country’s waters.
In the North East, protesters will be paddling out from Sandhaven Beach, in South Shields, King Edward’s Bay, in North Tyneside, and Little Shore Beach, in Amble.
The Paddle-Out Protests will take place in South Shields and Amble at 11am on Saturday, May 17 - with the protest at Tynemouth taking place at 1pm.
Giles Bristow, CEO at Surfers Against Sewage, the organisers of the protest, hopes that the planned action will send a message to the organisations who are polluting the UK’s waters.
He said: “Another year, another summer of swimming and surfing in sewage while our shameless water companies laugh all the way to the bank.
“The public has simply had enough and will be paddling out in their thousands to send a clear message to government and the polluters: end this sewage scandal now.
“The people paddling out in the North East are part of a groundswell of Ocean Activists across the UK, letting the water companies, government and Independent Water Commission know, loud and clear, that we will not settle for yet another year of risking our health to swim in the sea.
“People should be free to use the water without fear of getting sick, and that’s why we developed the Safer Seas & Rivers Service, a free app that provides real-time pollution alerts, giving peace of mind for those worried about sewage pollution.
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“This year’s Paddle-Out Protests will show those in power that the public are watching and will not let up until public health and the environment is prioritised over profit.”
The South Shields MP highlighted that water pollution off the South Tyneside coast has been a longstanding problem.
Her comments came as Littlehaven Beach has given a ‘Brown flag’ from the Holiday Park Guru - which bases ratings on water quality inspections that were released in November 2024.
South Tyneside Council has confirmed that it is “working with its partners at the Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water to investigate and determine why the bathing water quality at Littlehaven does not meet the minimum standards.”
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