THAMES WATER has been handed a £3.3 million fine for a “reckless” incident in which “millions of litres” of undiluted sewage was pumped into rivers near Gatwick Airport.

A two-day sentencing hearing at Lewes Crown Court was told that there was a “significant and lengthy” period of polluting in the Gatwick Stream and River Mole between Crawley in West Sussex and Horley in Surrey on October 11 2017.

Judge Christine Laing KC said today that she believed Thames Water had shown a “deliberate attempt” to mislead the Environment Agency over the incident, such as by omitting water readings and submitting a report to the regulator denying responsibility.