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Wakefield Labour MP Simon Lightwood accused the government of ‘negligence’ as he raised the state of the district’s waterways in parliament.

During a Commons debate, Mr Lightwood called for the water regulator (Ofwat) to be given new powers to ban the payment of bonuses to water company bosses who fail to meet pollution targets.

Mr Lightwood said: “We are one of the most nature depleted countries in the world and we are living in a dirty water emergency.

Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood (right) with Stuart Heptinstall, councillor for Wakefield East ward, beside the river Calder

“The two main rivers in the Wakefield district – the river Calder and the river Aire – are the second and third most polluted rivers in the country.”

Figures show that, in 2022, there were 1,316 discharges of raw sewage into Wakefield’s rivers, totalling 5,816 hours- the equivalent of eight months.

Since 2016, there has been 1,276 years’ worth of raw sewage dumped into British waters.

Mr Lightwood recently launched a campaign, working with other politicians to highlight the impact of pollution locally.

Simon Lightwood pictured next to the river Calder

He added: “It is no surprise that it was under the Tories’ watch.

“This is a government who sees action on nature and pollution as something they must do, rather than something they want to do.”

The MP said that, despite high pollution levels, consumers in Yorkshire face an average £111 hike a year in water bills.

He said: “Labour is clear that the polluters should pay.

“Earlier this year, the water companies asked for more money to fix the problem.

“If companies don’t improve, the money should come from dividends going to shareholders, not by increasing people’s bills.

“Those bosses who continue to break the rules repeatedly should face professional and personal sanctions for their behaviour.

“This soft-touch approach has to end. We will only solve this by tougher action.”

In response, Robbie Moore, parliamentary under secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, said: “This government has been consistently clear that the failure of water companies to adequately reduce sewage discharge is completely unacceptable.”

Mr Moore said the government had introduced legally-binding targets for water quality and made it a requirement to publish data on storm overflow activity.

He added that Ofwat had been given powers “clamp down” on dividends and bonuses.

Call for action as Aire and Calder rivers ranked as most polluted in the UK