Beachgoers have been warned of a “potential pollution risk” after sewage from a burst pipe has flowed into a river near popular Welsh beaches.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has declared an “abnormal situation” at four beaches in or near Tenby in Pembrokeshire.

NRW says it is investigating a “pollution incident” in the River Ritec near Tenby.

The body, sponsored by the Welsh government, is responsible for managing Wales’s natural resources.

Welsh Water informed NRW of a burst rising main, with sewage entering the river.

The river flows to the sea at Tenby South Beach.

The water firm said the work to repair the pipe was “proving challenging”.

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Warnings have also been put in place for Castle Beach, Tenby North Beach and Penally Beach.

Tenby is a popular tourist destination and the Around Tenby website lists two of the beaches affected as having blue flags, indicating their cleanliness.

Andrea Winterton, duty manager for Natural Resources Wales, said the pipe near Tenby had been “isolated”.

“Due to the potential for the pollution to impact the downstream bathing waters, we’ve declared an abnormal situation and informed Pembrokeshire County Council who will place signs at the beaches to warn people of the potential pollution risk,” Ms Winterton added.

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Nathan Miles, Pembrokeshire County Council’s public protection manager, said staff had been “working closely” with NRW and Welsh Water.

“As required by the abnormal situation declaration, the council will place signs on the potentially affected beaches, Penally and Tenby, North, South and Castle beaches on Tuesday morning,” he added.

“We understand that the spill is under control and officers will continue to assess the situation alongside NRW as further information is received.”

A spokesperson for Welsh Water said its crews continued to work to repair the damaged sewer pipe on land by Clickett Lane, Tenby.

“The repair is proving challenging so our crews are putting in a lot of effort to manage this work safely,” the spokesperson said.

“While this is taking longer than we anticipated the pipe was quickly isolated yesterday so there has been no further pollution while the repair work is carried out.”

The company apologised for any inconvenience.

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