Southern Water has been fined a record £90 million after bosses admitted deliberately dumping billions of litres of raw sewage illegally thousands of times over a five-year period into the sea.
The company pleaded guilty to 6,971 unpermitted sewage discharges from 17 sites - the equivalent to one pipe leaking continuously for seven years.
Tonnes of sewage polluted rivers and coastal waters in Kent, Hampshire and Sussex between 2010 and 2015, a court heard.
Passing sentence, the Honourable Mr Justice Johnson said, of the formal 51 guilty pleas, that the Southern Water's behaviour had been 'shocking' and the offences had been 'committed deliberately' by the company's board of directors at the time.
The company pleaded guilty to 6,971 unpermitted sewage discharges from 17 sites in Kent, Hampshire and Sussex - the equivalent to one pipe leaking continuously for seven years. Pictured: The 17 areas where Southern Water released raw sewage illegally
He said: 'Each of the 51 offences seen in isolation shows a shocking and wholesale disregard for the environment, for the precious and delicate ecosytems along the North Kent and Solent coastlines, for human health, and for the fisheries and other legitimate businesses that depend on the vitality of the coastal waters.
'Each offence does not stand in isolation. It is necessary to sentence the company for the totality of the offences to which it has pleaded guilty. But even that does not reflect the defendant's criminality.
'That is because the offences are aggravated by its previous persistent pollution of the environment over very many years.'
Bosses deliberately painted a misleading picture of compliance to the Environment Agency, which brought the criminal prosecution, Canterbury Crown Court heard.
And some of the dumping hit conservation sites, causing major environmental harm to shellfish waters.
The Environment Agency brought the criminal investigation after the shellfish were found to be contaminated with E. coli.
Tonnes of sewage polluted rivers and coastal waters in Kent, Hampshire and Sussex between 2010 and 2015, a court heard. Pictured: Bosham, West Sussex, where raw sewage was deposited
Between 2010 and 2015, raw sewage was diverted away
