East Anglia warned of dirty Brexit
23 January 2019, 08:14 | Updated: 23 January 2019, 09:34
An environmental organisation is warning Norfolk and Suffolk is one of the areas most at risk of a dirty Brexit.
Friends of the Earth are concerned that leaving the EU without a deal would leave the UK without adequate environmental protections or a watchdog to enforce them.
It warns that beaches such as Lowestoft, Dunwich and Thorpeness "could return to their previous sewage and pollution-filled state".
It's also worried that nature protections in places like Wensum Valley could be lost.
"Our real concern is with a no deal Brexit, things like the much-vaunted Environment Act will be delayed," Friends of the Earth CEO Craig Bennett told Heart.
"So I think there's real risks to the environment in general and beaches in particular around East Anglia as a result of a no deal Brexit.
"Without an enforcement agency to actually make sure that government - that public bodies and others - are really upholding the rules, then a critical wildlife area like Wensum Valley could be threatened."
The organisation believes the UK would suffer environmentally from a no deal even in the short term, because of extra pollution from queues at ports.
