Thames sewer pipes 'unnecessary'

Plans to spend £400m on connecting more than a dozen overflow pipes in south-west London to a proposed Thames "super sewer" are unnecessary, campaigners have said.

The Stop the Shaft group claimed the pipes were only responsible for a tiny proportion of waste released into the river.

And it was unjustifiable to spend taxpayers' money on linking them to the planned 20-mile (32km) tunnel, the organisation added.

But the Environment Agency said the campaigners' claims were "misleading" and has defended the scheme.