North West Leicestershire saw Leicestershire's second highest numbers of raw sewage dumped into its waterways in 2022, according to recently released data.

In the space of a year, the county's waterways had raw sewage dumped into them more than 7,000 times.

Recently released data has revealed how much raw sewage was dumped into waterways across Leicestershire in 2022, and where.

Figures published by the Environment Agency have revealed that raw sewage was dumped into Leicestershire waterways for a total of 48,762 hours throughout 2022.

The research also found that 7,082 sewage dumping events took place across all constituencies throughout Leicestershire over the 12 months.

In North West Leicestershire, there were 1,283 sewage spills over 11,804 hours.

These events see untreated waste water released into bodies of water when systems become overwhelmed, often caused by heavy rainfall, blockages or unexpected equipment failures.

The Rutland and Melton constituency was found to have the highest amount of sewage dumping events take place in Leicestershire.

A total of 2,397 sewage spills took place in the constituency, which is famous for its large Rutland Water reservoir and a mecca for watersports enthusiasts.

Severn Trent Water is the main water company that covers Leicestershire and the rest of the Midlands.

In response to the recent figures, a spokesperson said: "In the last year we've reduced our impact on rivers by a third, and according to latest Environment Agency data Severn Trent currently accounts for 16 per cent of reasons rivers in the Midlands not achieving good ecological status, with the remaining 84 per cent down to other factors.

"We have committed that our operations will not be the reason for any stretch of river in the whole Severn Trent region to be classified as unhealthy by 2030 and we're continuing to invest £100m a year to go even further in improving river quality, including the installation of 100 per cent of monitor coverage across the region. We're consistently recognised for our industry leading performance, receiving the highest four-star rating by the Environment Agency, and are committed to being open and transparent about our performance and our plans."

Thérèse Coffey, the secretary of state for environment, recently revealed the government's £1.6bn plan to reduce water pollution, which included tougher penalties and heavy fines for polluters.

But the minister also said that there is "no way you can stop pollution overnight" and that building more infrastructure such as super sewers could add "hundreds to people's bills".

Here are the figures per constituency in Leicestershire, showing total sewage spills in 2022/total hours sewage dumped in 2022

• Bosworth 7852/649

• Charnwood 4671/488

• Harborough 4792/743

• Leicester East 44/135

• Leicester South 46/32

• Leicester West 84/177

• Loughborough 3991/414

• North West Leicestershire 1,283/11,804

• Rutland and Melton 2,397/20,679

• South Leicestershire 1,098/7,641