Beaches closed for swimming at Littlestone and St Mary's Bay this season - water pollution blamed

Watch: swimmers and local businesses tell ITV Meridian's Abigail Bracken how upset they are about water pollution

Just two beaches in Kent are closed for the entire summer - and they are both within the same bay.

Littlestone on the Romney Marsh is starting its first swimming season with an official warning not to bathe - and St Mary’s Bay is facing its second year without swimmers.The warnings could be in place for years to come - and local people are outraged they can no longer swim where they live.

In Dymchurch, which is the next beach along the bay from St Mary's Bay, the bathing waters are now rated 'sufficient' - dropping from last year's rating of good.

David Jacobs, from the sea swimming group 'Dymchurch dippers', is upset that Dymchurch has been downgraded:

Southern Water's New Romney sewage treatment works discharges in to the marsh drainage system, which is then pumped directly on to the beach at Littlestone. This outlet is 200 metres away from the Environment Agency's site for sampling water quality.

Southern Water's Open Water Improvement Lead, Tom Gallagher, told ITV Meridian:

But Cllr Paul Thomas, from New Romney Town Council, says Southern Water's explanation doesn't add up:

"In July, the results went from less than 10 to 2300 overnight and I don't believe that that is due to a couple of leaking septic tanks or a bit of pipe leaking.

"That's a massive amount of sewage that's been discharged into that system, where we've then ended up with that level of bacteria being discharged on to our beach."