HUNDREDS of oranges were released into west Dorset waters to determine the impact of sewage on the ocean.

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

On Friday, 500 oranges were set free into the water at Lyme Regis in a 'dramatic and visual demonstration'.

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

Students paddleboarded out to a buoy which marks the end of the sewage pipe and released 300 oranges in the sea.

Meanwhile, other students released the remaining 200 oranges into the River Lim, following them as they made their way down river.

The experiment had been moved forwards 24 hours due to a forecast of bad weather, having originally been scheduled to go ahead on Saturday.

Each orange represented a potential piece of excrement, with students following the path of the fruit and photographed where they ended up, before collecting them.

From the River Lim, 37 (18 per cent) of 206 oranges floated ashore in a 100 metre stretch of shoreline, primarily to the east of the river, including a popular swimming area.

The other 82 per cent continued their path and orange skin was found the next day 150 metres west.

Mr Stafford Smith said this 'proved conclusively' that effluence from the River Lim is polluting swimming beaches.

Student Eva Brown, who took part in the project, said: “While I enjoyed the science experiment, given the results I am not sure I am ever going to paddle board in Lyme Regis again until they clean it up."

The experiment 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 into the middle of the beach, was described as 'ecologically dead' due to the amount of human waste found in the water, while the seaside town was given a sewage discharge warning following heavy rainfall earlier this month. 

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.