Locals have demanded action after one of Norfolk's major tourist destinations was revealed as being a hotspot for sewage spills.

Caister-on-Sea had the highest number of discharges out of the county's beaches last year, with wastewater released for more than 560 hours during 106 spills.

It has led to villagers and local councillors demanding a meeting with Anglian Water to discuss the issue affecting the Great Yarmouth Borough.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: People enjoying the sand and sea at Caister beachPeople enjoying the sand and sea at Caister beach (Image: Newsquest)

The water company has assured them they have a long-term plan to tackle the problem and that they have installed a new 'early warning' system to monitor the sewage network.

Gary Boyd, a Conservative councillor representing Caister, said: "I'm not happy at all about it but Anglian Water accept that the situation is unacceptable and needs to be remedied.

"Clearly there is plenty more work to be done and we hope it continues taking action to improve the sewage network.

"We live in a beautiful part of the world which is a hugely popular tourist destination that we must protect.”

Great Yarmouth Mercury: Gary Boyd (L) with fellow Caister on Sea councillor Penny Carpenter (R)Gary Boyd (L) with fellow Caister on Sea councillor Penny Carpenter (R) (Image: Gary Boyd)

Water companies are allowed to release sewage during periods of extreme weather in order to protect against flooding.

Anglian Water has previously said the storm overflow at Caister is more than a mile out to sea and it insists its modelling proves it does not impact water quality at the beach.

It has blamed the big increase in sewage spills at Caister, which nearly doubled compared to 2022, on the prolonged period of heavy rain.

The situation has improved since 2021, when sewage was released for 837 hours.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: Sewage discharges have become a major point of controversy in recent yearsSewage discharges have become a major point of controversy in recent years (Image: Newsquest)

Anglian Water has said it will invest £1bn in storm overflows and that it is working hard to drive down the number of spills.

It hopes a £50m 'spills taskforce' will help tackle the problem and £113m has been invested already in Norfolk alone in recent years.

However, locals remain concerned, with Kevin Woods, chairman of the parish council, fearing it could harm Caister's reputation as a holiday destination.