Two beaches have finally been given the all-clear after days of sewage discharge issues.

Beachgoers have been told it is safe to go back into the water in Folkestone and Leysdown.

A total of nine beaches were flagged up as having potentially low water quality at the end of last week.

People reported seeing dark stains in the sea and "foul smells" at various shorelines over Thursday and Friday, and on Friday morning, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) confirmed warnings for coastlines across North and East Kent.

This included Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate, Dymchurch, Sheerness, Leysdown, Whitstable, Tankerton and Herne Bay Central beaches.

Over the weekend, warnings were taken off for the majority of sites, but they were brought back in this morning for Leysdown beach, and Sunny Sands in Folkestone.

However, this morning DEFRA gave both beaches the all clear, meaning there are now no ongoing pollution incidents on Kent beaches.

On Friday, shocking video recorded by campaign group SOS Whitstable emerged, showing what appears to be raw sewage lapping the beach in Tankerton.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said on Thursday: “This week's thunder storms brought heavy rain which fell onto parched ground and couldn’t absorb surface run-off, meaning that more rain than usual overwhelmed our network.

"This led to some overflows – which are used to protect homes, schools, businesses and hospitals from flooding – spilling excess water into the sea in parts of west Sussex, including Seaford.

"These discharges are heavily diluted and typically 95% of them are rainwater.

“We are dedicated to significantly reducing storm overflows and are running innovative pilot schemes across the region to reduce the amount of rainfall entering our combined sewers by 2030.”

A spokesman for SOS Whistable said that the situation was "incredibly disappointing" and accused Southern Water of "downplaying" the severity of the leaks.

"As well as the health risk posed to swimmers and the enormous damage inflicted on the marine life, this will prove catastrophic to the local economy, especially the fishing and hospitality industries, at a time when they are still recovering from the pandemic," they said.

"Southern Water's comments that these releases are 'typically 95% rainwater' deliberately plays down the seriousness of the situation and are potentially dangerous.

"'Typically' does not mean 'always' and there is no way for the general public to differentiate between spills that are predominantly rainwater and those which aren't.

"Furthermore, the notion that these releases are only 5% sewage and therefore not a risk contradicts the volume of messages which we receive from people who have become ill after swimming in them."