SEWAGE pollution has spread to Fermain. Nine days after it was announced that two million gallons a day was being pumped into the sea, the Environmental Health Department confirmed that samples taken on Monday significantly exceeded the EU guideline figure.

When I went by boat to the outlet just outside the harbour, I found a disgusting scene.

The short trip at low tide revealed human excrement and sanitary towels floating on the surface just 50 metres offshore.

Yet leaving the harbour there was little indication of what will confront seafarers heading north.

The sea was calm and the wind was blowing from the shore.

The only indication of anything unusual in the water was seagulls gathering close to shore and a smooth slick.

Turning into the wind and travelling over the slick, the smell soon became rancid.

Small particles were visible from 30 metres away but when the boat went closer to the outlet, particles turn to lumps and a constant stream of human waste flowed into the Little Russel.

At one point the volume of discharge increased noticeably, as though flowing from a large tap.

Water samples were collected near the pipe and in Havelet Bay, near Castle Cornet.

Water from the outlet was densely contaminated with solid human waste and discoloured.

The second sample looked clear to the naked eye but was still foul enough for environmental health officers to warn users of Havelet and Fermain to exercise caution.

Work on the sewage main at Glategny Esplanade means the White Rock outlet, which was replaced by a longer pipe at Belle Greve in 1986 because it was unsatisfactory, will be used for another four weeks.

Public Services confirmed last week that the White Rock outlet is used three or four times a year, normally only for a day or two, while maintenance work is carried out.

It claimed that relevant departments had always been aware of this, something which is strongly denied by environmental health officers.