BEN Maguire and Andrew George are among a group of MPs who have called for the boss of South West Water to resign from her post, citing Christmas sewage dumping, rising bills and poor service delivery.

Susan Davy, who is the CEO of Pennon Group – South West Water’s parent company – has been urged to “do the decent thing and step aside” from her £860,000 a year role.

Mr Maguire, MP for North Cornwall, together with Mr George, MP for St Ives, have each co-signed a letter with Cameron Thomas, MP for Tewkesbury and Neil Duncan-Jordan, MP for Poole.

“We are writing to you directly to call for your resignation as Chief Executive of Pennon Group following your company’s repeated and unacceptable failures to prevent sewage dumping across Cornwall and the South West’s beaches and waterways,” Mr Maguire said in his letter.

“The scale of the crisis under your leadership is now intolerable. The Environment Agency reported a staggering 530,000-plus hours of sewage overflows in the South West region in 2023 alone, an 83 per cent increase on the previous year.

“In North Cornwall, blue flag beaches, some of the most beautiful in the country, were subjected to more than 2,700 hours of sewage discharges across 148 separate incidents last year. Every single incident of sewage dumping, in the eyes of our constituents, is one too many – and each represents a real harm to families, local businesses and the natural environment.”

In their letter, the MPs accused Pennon Group of increasing water bills while “the standards of service that our constituents feel they receive drops lower and lower by the day.”

Mr Maguire added: “Adding insult to injury, your decision to forgo a bonus but instead increase your total compensation from £543,000 to £860,000 does nothing to reassure us that you take these failures seriously.

“The people of Cornwall and the South West, who rightly cherish our beautiful rivers and coastlines, have lost all confidence in South West Water under your leadership. After nearly a decade of failed oversight, first as Chief Financial Officer and now as Chief Executive Officer, it is abundantly clear that change is needed at the very top of your organisation. We do not have trust or confidence that you can lead the urgent changes required.

"For the sake of our constituents, for all of the South West, and for the environment we hold so dear, I urge you to do the decent thing and step aside, so that fresh leadership can finally rectify the scandal of sewage dumping.

"We deserve better than this.”

South West Water serves approximately 1.8-million people living in Cornwall, Devon, as well as parts of Somerset and Dorset.