MY partner and I are fairly frequent visitors to Lyme Regis, where we enjoy the shops and cafes, and regular walks and swims on the beaches.

However this summer, and the last few days in particular, we have noticed that the water quality appears to be declining, and at low tide today there was an appalling smell of raw sewage on Monmouth beach just west of the Cob.

Has this anything to do with what looks suspiciously like a sewage outfall pipe, clearly visible at low tide in the same location?

Lyme risks losing its reputation as a safe place to bathe, unless the water quality issues are addressed, and we will no longer risk our health by swimming here.

In 2015, the EEC introduce stringent new safety levels for bathing water quality. Lyme needs to be ready by then, or its reputation in the tourism industry will be in tatters.

DAVE LISTER, Langham Place, Rode, Frome