CONCERNS have been raised over “raw sewage” spilling out into a brook in Malvern which eventually leads into the Severn.

The sewage, having been released from Malvern Sewage Works into the Pool Brook, has been caught on the pipe in the photo. There are concerns the sewage might enter the Severn further downstream, causing a potential public health hazard.

A Severn Trent spokesman said: “The recent storms across Worcestershire saw our Malvern treatment works dealing with flows of waste water u12 times more than normal.

"To protect homes and businesses, and to make sure the works can keep working, the Environment Agency allows us to release waste water – usually predominantly rainwater – into the nearby brook under these exceptional circumstances.

"Since the storms hit we’ve been working hard to clean up the area and to get everything back to normal."

It is understood the works are operating as they should and the leakage is the result of the exceptional heavy rain recently which saw it deal with 12 times more than its usual flow.

The works are designed this way to ensure they keep operating, by redirecting predominantly rainwater into a local brook, to make sure the works keeps operating, meaning homes are protected from flooding.