Thames Water has told a Witney MP that it tried to stop releasing sewage at Christmas but could not.

The water company discharged sewage from Witney Sewage Treatment Works on a daily basis from Christmas Day until January 9.

Responding to a letter from MP Robert Courts, Thames Water CEO Sarah Bentley said they could not stop spilling despite treating more than the required flow.

She wrote: "The site’s permit requires the works to be treating at least 240 litres per second before any flow is diverted to the site’s storm tanks, and for the storm tanks to be full before there is any discharge to the Colwell Brook, at which point there is no alternative option available.

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"These conditions were fulfilled throughout this period, with the actual volume treated frequently exceeding 260 and even 270 litres per second.

"Nevertheless, despite the best efforts of the site team in treating more than the designed capacity of the works over the entire period, there were regrettably discharges on a daily basis from Christmas Day until 9th January, initially for most of the day and gradually declining to a few hours by the end of the period, at which point the incoming flows had subsided to the level which made them unnecessary."

Ash Smith, chair of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) said: "Whether those spills were illegal will depend on whether they were 'dry spills' which cannot be excused by rainfall or snow melt."

Ms Bentley said plans to increase capacity at Witney STW by around 50 per cent were moving ahead and contractors Tilbury Douglas have been appointed.

Work on the £8million scheme will start this year and complete in early 2024 though "we will do our best to bring this forward into the latter part of 2023."