United Utilities Water Limited was fined £900,000 and ordered to pay £62,225 in Environment Agency prosecution costs plus a £2,000 victim surcharge at Preston Magistrates' Court on 8 September 2026, the Environment Agency said in a press release that day. The company had pleaded guilty to five offences under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

The offences concerned discharges from pumping stations at Manchester Square, Anchorsholme and Chatsworth Avenue between 11 and 22 June 2023. According to the agency, raw sewage entered the Irish Sea for more than 35 hours in total over several days, and permits allowing discharge only once flows reached 2,300 litres per second were not met. 'No bathing' advice covered all eight designated bathing waters, and the Food Standards Agency temporarily closed three shellfish beds.

The agency said the incident began after the partial collapse of a final effluent pipe at Fleetwood Wastewater Treatment Works. It reported that Blackpool's summer visitor numbers fell by hundreds of thousands versus the previous year. United Utilities put response and repair costs at around £38 million and made a voluntary £250,000 payment to Blackpool Council.