Residents told to keep their 'mouths closed' while swimming through sewage-infected waters

A popular idyllic beach has been plagued by pollution in its otherwise crystal clear waters with some swimmers reporting "human and dog poo" floating past them.

Morecambe Bay is well known for its long stretches of sand and stunning sunsets and has even been a backdrop in some ITV dramas. However, some swimmers said otherwise this week after reporting they had to 'keep their mouth' shut while in the water.

Last week, the town was one of 40 in England and Wales which was subject to pollution warnings after heavy rain caused sewage systems to overflow. Following this, some swimmers and visitors reported that their visit to the beach was 'disturbingly poopy', Lancashire Live reports.

Read more: Family 'disgusted' amid claims wheelchair user was removed from Ryanair flight and humiliated

It comes after Labour accused the government of having its "head in the sand" over the dire state of many of Britain's beaches. However, number 10 said it was the duty of firms to put customers before shareholders when it comes to this country's beautiful beaches.

While Morecambe beach has been described as one of the 'worst hit' areas for raw sewage, some have disputed this claim. David Morris, Conservative MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, claimed there was no sewage being dumbed in the beach.

He also accused the Liberal Democrats of "running a disinformation campaign saying that sewerage has been dumped into water 29,000 times last year". He added: "This is not true, any outputs into the water in Lancashire and Cumbria is storm water only."

United Utilities also spoke out, stating that the Liberal Democrats figures are incorrect and 'misleading'. A spokesperson for United Utilies stated that the discharge figures represented storm