One witness said it was the worst discharge he had ever seen on that stretch of the River Tyne.
There were no obvious signs of human or sanitary waste but there was "a very, very dominant smell of sulphur, rotten eggs smell" and a lot of waste solids, he said.
Water companies are permitted to discharge waste water in "exceptional circumstances", such as severe storms, but have beenHowever, Mr Peacock said there had been no rain for 48 hours and said EA and NWL officials had told him they were considering the possibility a business or individual might have flushed waste through the pipes illegally.NWL said its equipment in the area had been checked and was "working as they should be".
A spokesperson said: "We are now working with the EA to check the surface water sewer for any local farming activity or highway drainage connections that could have caused what was seen in the video." Mr Peacock said there had been a number of similar occurrences along the river over the previous few weeks, which the EA was investigating.
People were keen to keep the river "as pristine as we possibly can", because it was home to kingfishers, otters, seals and, currently, 11 swan cygnets, he added.
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