Southern Water faced a wave of criticism from residents and councillors over sewage releases at a heated meeting - but a boss from the controversial company insisted the level of pollution was falling.

The firm's director of water operations, Tim McMahon, admitted the discharges were "unacceptable" when he attended a Thanet District Council overview and scrutiny meeting to update members in the wake of discharges and supply issues.

Before the meeting, about 30 protestors from Westgate & Garlinge Action Group Against Housing Development on Farmland gathered outside the council's offices in Margate to air their discontent with the firm's actions.

Many held signs with slogans including “birds not turds" and “shame on you”.

Among the campaigners was Manston resident Julie Norburn-McRae, 55, who raised concerns about the impact of new housing in the district.

“How is the infrastructure with Southern Water going to work? Because we can't cope as it is now,” she said.

“There was the deluge of sewage that was released into the sea, and this is happening all the time.

“There are swimmers out there that are getting sick.

“We’ve become a place that used to be a great place to come for a holiday.

“Would you want your kid to swim in the sea, knowing that a poo could float by or they’re going to swallow it and they’re going to be really ill?”

Elliot Tagg, 37, of Margate, added: “My wife goes swimming all year round. I use the sea much more in the summer, but it’s quite a shame to have to check the water conditions of our ocean locally before we can use it, that shouldn’t be the case."

The company also came under fire for a number of recent water outages, including in December, when thousands in the district were left without supplies.

Cllr Rob Yates told members this year alone, there had already been about five water outages affecting Thanet residents.

On sewage releases, Mr McMahon told councillors and activists: “Legal or illegal, our stance is that it’s unacceptable either way."

Defending the company’s record, he told last Wednesday's meeting how the amount of waste sent into the sea is falling.

“In the last few years that’s improved 30% year-on-year, and we’re looking to improve that by a further 50% by 2030.

“But that will come at a cost, to the tune of about a billion pounds for Southern Water, so that is a significant level of investment.”

Protestors present in the public gallery heckled Mr McMahon about Southern Water making profits, and suggested the company “should have invested it over the years”.

Mr McMahon argued: “The net profit isn’t going to shareholders, it’s going to cover debt.

“In terms of dividends, which is basically the equity injection which goes to shareholders, there hasn’t been an equity payout since 2017.

“When you see net profit in the papers that is not cash going out the door to pay shareholders.”

He added that soon, the company is likely to get “the biggest equity injection in the industry ever”.

Councillors voted to recommend Southern Water representatives be invited back in a years’ time to give an update on their infrastructure investments and the water supply situation in Thanet.