Sewage firm fined for past spills

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The company which runs a plant at the centre of a sewage spill on the Firth of Forth has been involved in a string of previous incidents, it has emerged.

Environment Agency data shows that Thames Water has been fined a total of £147,000 since 2004 for a number of spills in England.

Last week more than 100 million litres of sewage poured into the Forth from the Seafield plant in Edinburgh.

The firm said it had halved the number of incidents in the past two years.

It also said it regretted any pollution leaks.

Internal inquiry

Scottish Water has begun an investigation into the sewage spill, which took place after pumping equipment failed at the Leith plant.

Edinburgh City Council has said it is now safe to return to beaches along the Firth of Forth.

Thames Water, the UK's largest sewerage company, operates the plant on behalf of Scottish Water.

Leith Links Residents' Association is now calling for the company's contract to be changed.

The inquiry into what went wrong at the plant will be led by a former chief executive of South West Water.

He is expected to focus on the spill rather than the wider issue of Thames Water's record.

Thames has run Seafield as a private finance initiative for the past seven years.