UK cleans up rivers
The Thames and the Taff have been named by the Environment Agency in a list of the UK's most improved waterways.
The River Thames and the River Taff, which runs through Cardiff, were recognised by the agency having been transformed from heavily polluted, lifeless rivers in the 1960s and 1970s to ones teeming with fish today.
The rivers formed part of a list of 10 waterways published by the Environment Agency in recognition of the improvements made after the introduction of tighter regulation for polluting industries.
The good news was, however, followed by concerns over the amount of sewage on UK beaches, after an alert service for beachgoers issued 48 warnings of spills in less than two months.
Environment pressure group Surfers Against Sewage, which is providing the trial service in collaboration with water companies, warned that spills were happening too frequently, with nine alerts issued for Salcombe, in Devon, and eight for Summerleaze beach in Bude, Cornwall during the summer months.