Sarah Sackman said the brook was “cloudy, polluted and full of rubbish” reports David Floyd

Sarah Sackman (left) with Ruth Geiger – (Credit – Francis Beckett)

The Labour candidate for Finchley and Golders Green has slammed “the Tories sewage scandal” after visiting a local brook yesterday.

Sarah Sackman was observing pollution levels on a visit to Dollis Brook, which runs through Barnet, with the chair of Friends of Windsor Open Space, Ruth Geiger.

“Cloudy, polluted and often full of rubbish” – Sarah Sackman was shocked at the state of Dollis Brook – (Credit – Francis Beckett)

She said: “I am shocked to see the state that the Environment Agency has allowed the brook to get into.

“The brook is cloudy, polluted and often full of rubbish. Ruth Geiger has told me that when it overflows, people have found toilet paper floating in their gardens. There seems to be little monitoring, and even less enforcement to stop polluters.

She added: ”A Labour government will clean up the Tories’ sewage scandal, with mandatory monitoring and automatic fines for polluters. And as your MP, I will be watching the waterways in Finchley and Golders Green, and making sure the Environment Agency is doing its job.

Responding to the latest national figures for sewage spills, the water minister Rebecca Pow said: “The volume of sewage being discharged into our waters is unacceptable and we are taking action to make sure polluters are held to account.

She added: “We have set the strictest targets ever on water companies to reduce sewage discharges, and are requiring them to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in their history.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.