Sussex anti-sewage campaigners welcome jail threat for worst-offending water company bosses

• Watch ITV News Meridian's Malcolm Shaw reporting on the plans.

There are calls for water company bosses to be jailed if they fail to prevent severe pollution of our waterways.

Environmental groups say current sanctions aren't working, and have welcomed Labour plans to make the worst abuses a criminal offence.

The hard-line proposals were unveiled by the Shadow Environment Minister Jim McMahon, speaking at the party's conference in Liverpool.

This will include mandatory monitoring of sewage outlets and automatic fines for discharges into Britain's waterways, which the party believes could bring in around £1.8 billion in the first year.

• Watch Jim McMahon speaking at the Labour Party's conference in Liverpool.

Beaches along the South coast have been plagued by filthy water in recent months, sometimes caused by heavy rainfall, sometimes by equipment failures.

Labour also says it would give stronger powers to the Environment Agency to introduce policies like ending 90% of sewage discharges by 2030.

The company says it's investing £2bn to significantly improve its performance and is on-track to deliver a 40% reduction in pollution incidents.

However, environmentalists say even Labour's plans don't go far enough.

• Watch Councillor Matthew Bird (GREEN), from Lewes District Council, speaking to ITV News Meridian.

A Southern Water spokesperson said: “It’s right that this issue is receiving attention from the Labour Party and the Government. 

"We want to go further and faster to improve storm overflows into our waterways, and we have plans in place to do so. 

“We are investing £2bn, around £1,000 per household, from 2020-25 to significantly improve our operations and we are currently on-track to deliver a step change in performance in 2022: a 40% reduction in pollution incidents.”