A CITY angling chief has warned those under 50 may not be able to fish in the river Severn when they retire due to sewage dumping.

The chairman of Worcester Angling Society fears his grandchildren may never be able to fish when they reach retirement age due to sewage dumping killing the wildlife in Worcester's river.

He also argues it is putting people off the local waterways.

"Our waterways are in a terrible state," Glyn Marshall said.

"What it will be like in 20 or 30 years, that is the concern - the young people now - and people love being by the water, and if it smells, it will put people off.

"Two or three days before I started (campaigning), I was fishing in Worcester just after it flooded and I looked up in the tree and saw toilet paper and panty lines.

"You have got a beautiful area around Worcester and can be in the natural environment, but walking down the river and seeing panty lines and condoms coming up from the drains is a concern."

To tackle sewage dumping, he got involved with the Water Quality Monitoring Network with the Angling Trust and tested the River Severn's water quality once a month.

He said he had collected samples over the past three years, and pollution levels were worsening.

A national study across 160 rivers in the UK by The Angling Trust found that 44% of the site averages for phosphates failed the England-wide upper standard for good ecological status.

Among those rivers studied, the River Severn in Worcestershire had one of the highest phosphate site averages.

Worcester MP Robin Walker said an investment into the fish pass at Diglis reflected an improvement in biodiversity.

He added: "I absolutely accept that it is a concern that discharges continue to happen, but an outright ban without the infrastructure investment to upgrade sewage systems would not have the desired effect and would be likely to result in people's homes getting flooded by backed up sewage rather than better outcomes for the river."

He added he is working on increasing the fines on water companies that pollute the waterways.

Gareth Mead, Severn Trent river ranger manager, said: “We welcome Citizen Science projects and it’s important the data is interpreted correctly. 

"On this waterbody, there are currently 13 reasons why the river doesn’t yet meet good ecological status, and Severn Trent is responsible for one of these, with the remaining 92% down to other sectors.

“There are many factors that contribute to river health, and we’re making progress in playing our part to reduce impact on waterways continuing to invest hundreds of millions of pounds, including two new projects at our Worcester and Powick Sewage Treatment Works."