RELEASES into bathing sites off the Isle of Wight were carried out by Southern Water in the past 24 hours.

The orange markers on the map shows places where there were releases into bathing waters - with the Isle of Wight taking the majority in the Southern Water area.

These "may have affected water quality" - the guide states.

The blue markers on the map shows places where there was no release to bathings sites.

The utility firm insists what is pumped out is a mix of 95 per cent rainwater.

New Defra measures to tackle discharges, made to stop aging drainage systems overflowing, are being brought it - but not until 2035 at the earliest.

It will involved capping the number of times discharges can be made. It is worth noting that the Isle of Wight appears to be already nearing that limit, in the first few weeks of autumn.

The official swimming season runs until September 30, when water is no longer monitored in the same way by the Environment Agency - there are calls for it to be extended all year.

It will continue to publish data, but the firm said said: "We upgraded the map to take into account the impact a release has on a local bathing water, based on the location of the outfall, the duration of the release and tidal conditions at the time.

"For instance, if the outfall is 5km out to sea, the release was short and the tidal conditions meant there could be no impact on a bathing water, we no longer turn the bathing water icon red (the outfall icon will remain red to indicate a release).

"This information is still in the release table however, to provide a transparent view of all our releases."