On day one and two of the official bathing season, Southern Water has used its storm sewage outflow pipes twenty three times, around the Isle of Wight's coast.

As thunder and lightning swept across the Island on Saturday and Sunday night, large amounts of rain fell too.

Southern Water's Beachbuoy website alerts beachgoers to areas potentially affected when sewage has been pumped into the sea, to ensure the system is not overwhelmed.

It shows outfall pumps were used six times on Saturday evening. In the early hours of Monday morning (between around 2am and 4am), the sewage outfall pipes were used 17 more times.

Isle of Wight County Press: The red dots show where outfall pipes were used by Southern Water in the last 24 hours.The red dots show where outfall pipes were used by Southern Water in the last 24 hours.

Points off Cowes and Gurnard, at the mouth of the River Medina, at Monktonmead Brook, Ryde, off Bembridge, and off Yaverland and Sandown, where the town's main beach is flying a Blue Flag this year, were all used.

Warnings were triggered for beaches around the Isle of Wight, from Sandown to Yarmouth, along the north and east coast. 

The longest use was at Yaverland and Whitecliff Bay, for around 3.5 hours, until around 4am.

The 2022 bathing water monitoring season began on Saturday, May 15 including, for the first time, in East Cowes.

Between October 2020 and September 2021, Cowes and Gurnard were found to be the worst in the UK for (diluted and treated) sewage being pumped into the sea, according to pressure group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS).

Southern Water insists no untreated sewage is pumped out and argues it is mostly water.

In January, as reported by the Isle of Wight County Press, the utility firm wrote to MP Bob Seely to say the Island would be a test site to cut sewage dumping by 80 per cent, for around 90 per cent of the Island.