Map shows beaches near Manchester to avoid due to 'sewage risk' amid heatwave

Manchester is set to reach a scorching 27C tomorrow, as a rather delayed heatwave hits the UK.

Temperatures climbed to a balmy 25C today (July 18) and will continue to rise tomorrow with sunny spells and cloudy intervals expected. A health issue has been issued covering London, the East Midlands, South East and eastern England ahead of the hot conditions.

But for those planning on cooling down by visiting a nearby beach, campaigners have created a map showing the troubling extent of the UK's sewage problem, with many hotspots listed as potentially hazardous.

READ MORE: Met Office heatwave verdict as spell of hot weather begins with health alerts issued in UK

Created by marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage, the map tracks the real-time sewage discharge and pollution risks and the UK.

St Annes North beach in Lancashire, just a stone's throw from Manchester, is unfortunately on the list - with a warning against bathing due to poor annual classification. "Water quality may be affected here by a number of sewer overflows that discharge into the River Ribble and the estuary south of the beach," the map states.

While no water quality alerts are in place for Blackpool's central beach, which is just over an hour's drive from Manchester, a sewer overflow discharges 'straight onto the beach around the centre'. Wharfe at Cromwheel in Ilkley has also been given poor annual classification due to sewage risk.

"Appallingly, the UK's water users are as likely to become ill from seawater as they were in the 1990s, with conditions ranging from sore throats and upset stomachs to serious illnesses like gastroenteritis, hepatitis and E. coli," Surfers Against Sewage said. "According to the European Centre for Environment