A Tory environment minister has been accused of trying to blame the public over sewage being dumped in rivers and the sea.
Mark Spencer said “we could all help as individuals” to stop storm overflows – by checking down-pointing drainpipes off our roofs.
But campaign group Surfers Against Sewage accused him of trying to distract from failures by water firms and the government.
The Minister for Food was confronted by BBC Breakfast with footage of sewage pouring into the sea at Trevaunance Cove in Cornwall.
Told locals had complained the rain was not even that heavy, he replied: “It’s something we need to stop.
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“But it is again, when we get huge downpours of rain, it is quite a challenge to deal with that volume of water within those sewage facilities.
“Now actually we could all help you know as individuals – if you check where your downright goes, your water spout off your roof, it’s very important that it goes into a top water drain and not into the sewage system.
“So actually one of the challenges is as people build an extension on their house or put a conservatory up, they drop the downright into the sewage system and not into a soakaway or into a topwater drain.
“So one thing you could do as an individual is check your own downrights and see where they go.
“But as an industry though I recognise we do need to do [more].”
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He added the Government is “investing billions of pounds in trying to solve this challenge” but “it is a huge huge problem because there are lots of houses up and down the country – that sewage needs to be dealt with”.
Amy Slack, head of campaigns and policy at the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage, said: “It is unacceptable that the Government is looking to shift the blame for the polluted state of our coast and rivers on to the public.
“Ineffective regulation and lax enforcement are what has led us to a position where 2.7million hours of raw sewage was pumped into our waterways last year, not a few faulty downpipes.
“We demand that the Government urgently reviews its sewage action plan, properly funds the industry regulator to hold water companies to account, and put an end to sewage pollution for good.”
South West Water blamed “heavy, localised rainfall” for the storm overflow in Cornwall yesterday.
The firm said after “more extreme weather patterns than ever before” due to climate change, “significant volumes run into our network”.
The firm added: “Storm overflows are designed to release excess storm water into rivers and seas when a prolonged rainfall occurs to prevent the risk of sewage backing up and flooding homes and public spaces by allowing a controlled release.
“We continue to increase investment in the region’s infrastructure as part of our continued commitment to protecting and enhancing the natural environment.”