WESSEX Water has said that two water quality alerts that were issued earlier this week were withdrawn. 

The two alerts were issued on Wednesday, November 10 for Friars Cliff beach and Avon Beach in Christchurch. 

The alerts were issued by Wessex Water to Surfers Against Sewage who use this information to provide real-time information for water users. 

However, the water company has confirmed that they withdrew this alert within a matter of minutes - though the alert was not removed from the SAS website until Thursday, November 11 - and that no storm overflows were in use. 

A spokesperson for Wessex Water said: "Surfers Against Sewage were notified of the false alarm within three minutes of the alert going out but did not update their website or app until days later. 

“False alerts can be triggered by a variety of factors, with causes ranging from wildlife triggering a sensor or a mobile communications network issue.”

A spokesperson for Surfers Against Sewage said: "We can clarify that these were false alerts."

Wessex Water confirmed that no sewage was released on Wednesday.