Thames Water has responded to claims that they are deliberately pouring sewage into rivers near Chalfont St Peter and Chesham.

The organisation has hit back at the accusation following the mot recent episode on the popular BBC programme, Countryfile, which was aired on May 19.

A segment of the show focused on the recent floods that have badly impact both areas in South Buckinghamshire, with groundwater mixing with overflown sewage.

This has led to human waste appearing in rivers, as well as several streets and in people’s homes.

One woman at a public forum revealed that faecal matter ‘started to come through her sink’, at the peak of the floods.

In the programme, presenter Joe Crowley spoke to farmer, Paul Jennings, who is the chair of the River Chess Association.

In the episode, he is seen standing in the river carrying out an inspection.

He later took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and accused Thames Water of stopping the continuing discharge just hours after the programme aired.

According to data from the River Chess Association, sewage was pumped into the river for 1,940 consecutive hours.

He said: “Makes you wonder does it take an appearance on Countryfile for action to be taken?

“At 3.45am [on May 20] the continuous discharge of sewage from Thames Water operated Chesham Sewage Treatment Works of 1,940 hours stopped.

“Let’s see if the morning flush causes it to start again.

“In case you missed it discharging recommenced three hours later - Coincidence?”

1980s singer and environmentalist, Fearghal Sharkey, also took to social media to slam Thames Water.

He said: “Ah that old trick. After 1,940 hours of continuous, nonstop, dumping sewage into the River Chess, a chalk stream, Thames Water’s counter stops and gets reset back to zero.

“Three hours later it all starts up again dumping even more sewage into the river.

A spokesperson from Thames Water said: “We have always been clear that storm overflows should only be used when necessary.

"We don't actively switch them on, they operate automatically when the flow levels increase, and, conversely, cease to operate when the flow levels decrease as they did for a short period on 20th May.

“While all discharges are unacceptable, the sewage system was historically designed in this way, to relieve pressure and prevent overflow into people’s homes.

“In some areas, such as the Chess valley, high volumes of unwanted surface water and groundwater get into the foul sewage system, particularly after prolonged periods of significant rainfall.

“This means that the volume arriving at the sewage treatment works is considerably greater than the site was designed to treat.

“We have published plans to upgrade over 250 of our sites across our region, including Gerrards Cross, Maple Lodge and Chesham.

“At Chesham Sewage Treatment Works, £20m is being spent on increasing capacity and ensuring a higher quality of treated effluent.”