Beach goers ae being warned to stay out of the water at a popular Pembrokeshire resort after a burst sewage pipe has led to an ‘abnormal situation’.

The burst rising main near Tenby has resulted in sewage entering the River Ritec, which flows to the sea at Tenby South Beach.

As a result, swimmers are being warned not to enter the sea at Tenby’s South Beach, Castle Beach and North Beach as well as Penally Beach.

Pembrokeshire County Council will put signs up on the beaches to warn bathers of the situation.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) says it was informed of the sewage spill by Dwr Cymru and that it is investigating the pollution incident, that could be impacting on water quality at nearby beaches.

NRW has declared an abnormal situation, as defined by the Bathing Water Regulations, at the beaches listed above.

Andrea Winterton, duty manager for NRW said: “Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has informed us of a burst rising main near Tenby which has resulted in sewage entering the River Ritec.

“The rising main has been isolated so there should be no further pollution into the river from the burst pipe.

“Due to the potential for the pollution to impact the downstream bathing waters, we’ve declared an abnormal situation and informed Pembrokeshire County Council who will place signs at the beaches to warn people of the potential pollution risk.”

Nathan Miles, Pembrokeshire County Council public protection manager, added: “Officers from the council’s Pollution Control Team have been working closely with Natural Resources Wales and liaising with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water following notification of this incident.

“As required by the abnormal situation declaration, the council will place signs on the potentially affected beaches, Penally and Tenby, North, South and Castle beaches on Tuesday morning.

“We understand that the spill is under control and officers will continue to assess the situation alongside NRW as further information is received.”

Welsh Water said that its crews were continuing to work to repair a damaged sewer pipe on land by Clickett Lane, Tenby, and that the repair was proving challenging.

“Our crews are putting in a lot of effort to manage this work safely," said a spokesperson.

“While this is taking longer than we anticipated the pipe was quickly isolated yesterday so there has been no further pollution while the repair work is carried out.

“We are managing flows in the area and there is no impact on wastewater services in the Tenby area.

“This was promptly reported to NRW and we are continuing to work with them, as well as Pembrokeshire Council, on this matter.

“We will keep customers and the community updated but we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Suspected pollution can be reported to NRW by calling the 24/7 incident hotline on 03000 65 3000 or online via the Report It page.

Information about where to find designated bathing waters, and the standard of bathing water is available on the Bathing Water Quality page.