Some foam has been seen on the River Dart

Sewage overflowed from South West Water's Black Rock pumping station near Buckfastleigh into the River Dart.

The plant normally pumps waste to a nearby treatment works but instead effluent flowed into the river on Tuesday.

The pumping station was closed but has been reopened. There have been no signs of any animal life being affected by the incident.

'Obvious impact'

Chris Lawson from the Environment Agency said it is not yet clear how badly the pollution will affect the area.

He said: "We've taken samples of the effluent where it entered the river and also upstream.

"We will be analysing those samples to see how damaging the effluent might have been to the river. We've also got people looking to see if there is obvious impact in the environment.

"Although there has been some foaming, we haven't seen any indication of it affecting fish, for instance. There are no dead fish or fish in distress."