Water firms and other companies have handed conservation and wildlife charities more than £17.3m over the last two years following pollution incidents, latest Environment Agency figures show.

The money has been handed to the charities through ‘enforcement undertakings’, whereby firms found responsible for pollution breaches hand money to good causes to avoid further action.

The largest contribution was a pay out of £1.5m made in February this year by Severn Trent Water to Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust due to the unauthorised sewage discharges.

Among Severn Trent Water’s other contributions was £1m to Trent Rivers Trust two years ago, after fish died when ‘poor-quality final effluent’ was discharged from its sewage works.

Meanwhile, a contribution of £1m made by Thames Water to London Wildlife Trust, also two years ago, relating to unauthorised disposal of waste.

Other recent contributions this year, was £20,000 in February from Ellgia Limited to the National Trust. This followed the firm’s failures around transportation of waste that was intended to be delivered to India from its Cambridgeshire base.

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