Danny Dyer, daughter Dani and singer Becky Hill join Kent water industry protest
Actor Danny Dyer, his daughter Dani Dyer and singer Becky Hill joined a Kent protest calling for the water industry to return to public ownership, following a petition signed by over 315,000 people. Water companies say they are investing record sums to cut sewage spills.
Hundreds of activists gathered in Leysdown, Kent, over the weekend in a demonstration organised by the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage. The protest follows a petition, signed by more than 315,000 people, calling for the water industry to be brought back under public ownership.
Among the demonstrators were EastEnders actor Danny Dyer, who has recently been filming a TV series while running a caravan park on the Isle of Sheppey, his daughter Dani Dyer, and singer Becky Hill. Dyer told reporters that a foul smell can sometimes be detected along the coast and described the water quality as a disgrace, calling the situation dangerous.
Becky Hill said she enjoys open-water swimming but finds it disgusting to encounter human waste in the sea. She said she was campaigning on behalf of her own family and others for cleaner seas, adding that people could make a difference by standing up.
Cliff Roney, a GMB union activist with more than 40 years in the water industry, warned that unless the sector is quickly returned to public ownership, the country risks heading toward a national catastrophe.
Industry body Water UK responded that no sewage spill is acceptable and said companies are tripling investment over the next five years to halve overflow spills and upgrade 1,700 wastewater treatment works, as part of a record £104bn investment programme. Southern Water said its £1.5bn, ten-year Clean Rivers and Seas Plan is already showing results, including a £90m upgrade to the Swalecliffe treatment works using AI and nature-based solutions.
Official data cited in the report shows Leysdown's bathing water has recently been rated good, with no pollution incidents recorded there.
