A sewage dump found in the River Thames this morning has been dubbed an 'environmental hazard' by Richmond Park's MP.

Residents found a huge build up of raw sewage had accumulated by the Teddington Lock on the border of Kingston and Richmond.

Footage gathered by residents shows raw human waste and serious contamination of the river Thames.

Sewage maps show the source of the contamination could be an outflow upstream on the nearby River Mole, a tributary of the Thames, which has been discharging unchecked for the last 147 hours.

Sarah Olney, Member of Parliament for Richmond Park said: "This is absolutely disgusting and a clear environmental hazard.

"For too long, water companies have been allowed to get away with pumping raw sewage into our rivers whilst this Conservative Government has turned a blind eye.

"Thames Water keeps promising to clean up its act, but their commitments are worth about as much as the stuff they keep dumping in the river. 

"How much longer are Ministers going to let these polluting giants get away with it? It is high time we introduced a sewage tax to make water companies pay for the damage they've done."

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