The Boxing Day swim that changed my life for ever: why I believe sewage contamination was to blame

New Channel 4 drama Dirty Business tells the stories of those who say their health has been devastated by England’s water companies scandal. This is cold-water swimmer Suzi Finlayson’s story

Having lived by the sea for 35 years, Suzi Finlayson was a keen cold-water swimmer. Together with a group of female friends, she’d hit the waves at her local beach in Aldwick, West Sussex, at least once a week – until the Boxing Day swim she believes nearly killed her.

“In January, doctors found a bacterial infection in my heart, which required surgery to save my life,” says Finlayson, 47. “They told me the bacteria could have entered my body while I was swimming, perhaps through my skin, a cut, or by swallowing dirty water.

“The spot where I swam is known for often being polluted by sewage. It’s time someone took accountability for what I and so many others have been through.”

A new factual drama on Channel 4, Dirty Business, charts a decade-long investigation into England’s water companies, which helped to uncover one of the biggest corporate scandals in British history.

Starring David Thewlis, Jason Watkins, Asim Chaudhry and Posy Sterling, the three-part drama also tells the stories of some of the whistleblowers and people, including Finlayson, who believe their lives have been destroyed after encountering sewage-polluted water.

“Before I fell ill, I was outgoing and lively,” says Finlayson, who lives in Chichester with her husband and two sons. “I ran my own coaching business and was very sociable – a free spirit. I particularly enjoyed my regular swims. It was lovely to feel part of a community, as well as being amazing therapy.

“In December 2023, around 30 of us met up for a Boxing Day swim. The water was fairly rough, and I remember swallowing a bit of water – although I didn’t think much of it at the time.

“But the next day, I started feeling really unwell. I was exhausted, and after the holidays I didn’t even have the energy to walk my boys to school. I had trouble breathing, and after a couple of weeks I could barely move.”

Eventually sent by her GP to St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester for tests, Finlayson was diagnosed with endocarditis, a rare infection of the lining of the heart that’s commonly caused by bacteria entering the bloodstream. Admitted to the acute cardiac ward, she was put on an antibiotic drip.

“The woman in the bed next to mine told me her son was a member of a yacht club, and that he’d also become seriously ill after swimming at Aldwick,” Finlayson recalls. “Some of his friends had fallen ill too, which got me thinking: was sewage in the water to blame for my endocarditis?”

With antibiotics proving ineffective, Finlayson had to have life-saving open-heart surgery. “It felt like life got very serious, very fast,” she says. “To this day, the bacterial infection has had a huge impact on my life. I had to put my business on hold, and seven months after heart surgery I suffered a bleed on my brain, which was likely caused by the medication I was on.

“I used to be constantly on the go, but my body simply won’t let me do as much any more. I’m grateful to be alive – but life looks very different now.”

After returning home from hospital, Finlayson submitted a sickness report to Surfers Against Sewage, a UK charity that campaigns for cleaner waters.

“They told me that around 340 hours of sewage had been dumped into the sea in December 2023, near to where I’d been swimming on Boxing Day,” says Finlayson. Because there are a number of sewage pipes on that stretch of coast, Finlayson emailed the water company to let it know what had happened. “They sent back a generic email telling me to raise an official complaint. I’ve since called and emailed them over and over, but no one’s willing to talk to me.”

Finlayson has since started a parliamentary petition calling for all water companies to pay for year-round testing of local waters.

She hopes that her involvement in the new Channel 4 drama will lead to water companies starting to accept more responsibility.

“Since my surgery, I’ve been back in the sea a handful of times, but it doesn’t feel the same,” Finlayson says. “I’m much more cautious now, and it doesn’t bring the same sense of wellbeing or satisfaction.

“When I was asked to take part in Dirty Business, I was happy to tell my story. Something has got to change, and I’m hoping positives will come out of us raising awareness.

“People’s lives have been drastically changed – but at the moment, it feels like there are no consequences.”

In the time it takes to read this article, sewage will be released four times, on average, into the UK’s waterways – by 2024’s most conservative figure: once every 54 seconds.

Channel 4’s factual drama Dirty Business starts Monday 23 February at 9pm, airing over three consecutive nights