Anglian Water bosses are pouring £800m into cleaning up its act as environment secretary Thérèse Coffey vows to get tough on polluting water and sewerage companies.

The group - which operates across East Anglia - said it was shelling out more than any other water company after the industry was ordered to pull its socks up following a series of pollution scandals across England.

Suffolk Coastal MP Ms Coffey has demanded that all of the companies come back to her with a "clear plan for what they are doing on every storm overflow, prioritising those near sites where people swim and our most precious habitats".

The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan - billed as the largest infrastructure programme in water company history - is set to cost £56bn in capital investment over 25 years, according to the government.

Companies can be fined up to £250m for failing to comply with the law and the most serious cases can lead to criminal prosecutions.

In 2021, £102m worth of fines were handed out. The government is now consulting on making is easier and quicker to impose penalties on polluters and is consulting the public over whether the upper fine limit serves as enough of a deterrent. 

Ms Coffey said sewage entering rivers and seas was "totally unacceptable".

"We need to be clear that this is not a new problem. Storm overflows have existed for over a century.

"The law has always allowed for discharges, subject to regulation. That is how our Victorian sewers are built – wastewater and rain are carried in the same pipe. When it reaches a certain height, it pours into another pipe and into rivers."

She admitted there was "significant work to do" on monitoring the spillages.

"I am now demanding every company to come back to me with a clear plan for what they are doing on every storm overflow, prioritising those near sites where people swim and our most precious habitats," she said.

An Anglian Water spokeswoman said the company was determined to play its part to reduce any pollution or impact it had on the region’s rivers.

"We carry out continuous monitoring and data gathering to help us understand where that happens," she said.

"We will of course share this information with the Secretary of State and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in line with their requests, and we will continue to work with them on our plans to improve our water infrastructure, alongside others in our region."