SOUTHERN Water has been fined more than £13,000 after admitting accidentally pumping tonnes of raw sewage into a Hampshire river.
The leak from the Peel Common Sewage Treatment Works in Fareham polluted more than one-and-a-half miles of the River Alver, killing several fish and creatures living in the water.
Raw waste spewed into the river for more than an hour, following a power cut at the plant last July, and caused ecological damage lasting months.
The power cut stopped the centre's first pump and disabled alarms connected to the backup pump.
Although that worked correctly, a gate controlling the flow of waste failed to open, meaning sewage spilled into overflow ditches and directly into the river.
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