HUNDREDS of oranges will be released into the sea in west Dorset this weekend to measure where sewage washes up on the beach.

The Poo Project is being conducted by local human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith alongside a group of Year 12 students.

On Saturday, July 22, 500 oranges are set to be released into the water at Lyme Regis to show how sewage is affecting our oceans in a 'dramatic and visual demonstration'. 

The project, part of the students' environmental science project, is being carried out during low tide at the weekend to study the final destination of the sewage released by South West Water at Lyme Regis beach.

Students will be paddleboarding out to a buoy which marks the end of the sewage pipe and releasing 300 oranges in the sea.

Meanwhile, other students will be releasing the remaining 200 oranges into the River Lim, following them as they make their way down river.

Each orange will represent a potential piece of excrement released by South West Water, before all of the oranges are rounded up and collected. 

Jack Caswell, Lyme Regis secondary student, said: “I am shocked at what I have learned about the pollution in our town.

"Surely in the 21st century we should not be dumping sewage in where we swim.”

Mr Stafford Smith added: “I suspect the message from this environmental science project will be clear.

"Privatised water companies should give up their exorbitant salaries, their bonuses and their shareholders’ dividends and spend the money on ensuring that they do their job properly."

The project comes following concerns that swimmers at Lyme Regis are being made to swim in 'toxic water' amid several sewage discharges into the ocean.

In May, the River Lim, which flows out in the middle of the beach, was described as 'ecologically dead' after the amount of human waste being pumped into it tripled. 

Residents and tourists have been warned not to go into the sea due to bacteria levels as sewage discharges are predicted to rise even further.

Following heavy rainfall last week, Lyme Regis was issued with a sewage alert regarding overflows being released into the ocean.

Water companies say that storm overflows are 'operated automatically' following heavy rainfall to prevent sewers becoming overwhelmed.

They also claim to have invested millions of pounds to reduce the amount of discharges.