Sewage has been pumped into a brook running through a picturesque village on the edge of the Chiltern Hills for nearly a week, The Independent can reveal.

A water recycling centre near Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire, has been discharging waste into Coombe Bottom brook, which feeds into the Ourzel river, since the morning of 23 May.

Waste was still flowing into the waterway on Tuesday afternoon, Anglian Water, which operates the centre, confirmed after one of its engineers visited the site - but added this was due to heavy rain which takes several days to clear.

Campaigners said the “horrific” incident was yet another example of the “daily illegal sewage spills that take place across the country”.