A shocking video shows murky liquid gushing into the sea at a beauty spot - but Southern Water insists it is not sewage.

The footage was captured at West Beach in Whitstable, sparking fears waste was being dumped from an outfall.

Water can be seen flowing out of the pipe into the sea - with a patch of murky water visible nearby.

Canterbury and Whitstable MP Rosie Duffield (Lab) tweeted her frustration at the footage, which was captured shortly before 8.30am this morning.

"Here we go yet again," she posted, with a face-palm emoji.

"A bit of rain, it's mid-October in England."

Campaign group SOS Whitstable branded the video "disgusting" while another person said: "One of the greatest scandals of our time and in a very strong field."

But Southern Water responded to the footage on social media to confirm the release was not sewage.

"I have spoken to the relevant team," a spokesman posted from the company's official account.

"This has been investigated and confirmed that this is a surface water outfall, discharging rainfall that has run-off from surrounding roads."

Meanwhile, there was a separate two-hour release from a combined sewage overflow in Tankerton this morning, which started shortly after 7am.

It has been reported on Southern Water's Beachbuoy app, which provides information about storm release activity near coastal bathing waters.

It comes after heavy rain has battered the county today, which can lead to overflows releasing into rivers and coastal waters.

They are used during heavy rainstorms to protect homes from flooding and prevent sewage from overflowing into streets and houses.

A combined sewage overflow collects rainwater run-off but also domestic sewage.

Earlier this month, nearby Tankerton Beach was made to look like a crime scene as part of a protest against sewage releases by Southern Water.

About 2,000 people showed up to voice their anger at the private water utility company.

Activists taped off a large portion of the beach as a crime scene, before putting down dozens of numbered markers under which they lay news articles reporting on Southern Water's polluting activities.

Last year, the water company was ordered to pay a record £90 million fine for 6,971 unpermitted sewage discharges in Kent, Hampshire and Sussex, following the largest criminal investigation in the Environment Agency's 25-year history.

The firm pleaded guilty to charges, which included dumping 21 billion litres of raw sewage into seas off the Kent coast.