Jo Bateman, who tries to swim in the sea every day, is refusing to pay the sewage element of her water bill and said she is prepared to go to prison over it
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00:00 So I'm taking Southwest Water to court because I feel like they need to be held accountable.
00:05 I've had enough. Hi my name's Jo Bateman, I live in Exmouth, I'm a year-round sea swimmer
00:10 and I'm taking Southwest Water to court because I believe that they have taken away the amenity
00:16 of swimming in the sea by dumping sewage in it. So I swim in the sea every single day because I
00:20 absolutely love it and I love the benefits that it gives to my mental and physical health and I'm not
00:26 alone in that. There are many many people who find the same. I'm taking Southwest Water to court
00:30 because I feel like they need to be held accountable. I've had enough. I'm withholding
00:36 the sewage part of my water bill and all I get from that is threats of debt recovery and bailiffs
00:42 and I finally decided that I need to take action. I need to do something. Every single one of us
00:49 has the right to swim in the sea. It belongs to all of us. We all have that right. We may not all
00:55 choose to take it but I want to. If I win it sets an amazing precedent I hope and that will open the
01:02 floodgates for the thousands of other people who are unable to swim when sewage is dumped in the
01:06 sea by Southwest Water.