Environment Agency chiefs hand out £8.7 million in bonuses after being accused of failing to keep the UK's rivers and beaches clean

Bosses at the Environment Agency have handed out a record amount in bonuses – despite criticism that they are failing to keep the country's rivers and beaches clean.

A total of £8.7million was given to employees in extra payments last year – a 67 per cent increase on the £5.2million doled out four years ago.

Nearly all the agency's 11,000 staff were handed bonuses, which were an average of £850.

It comes amid anger over revelations that water firms have pumped sewage into rivers and the sea at the same time as paying huge dividends to shareholders.

Last week, the Office for Environmental Protection watchdog accused the Environment Agency (EA) of failing to enforce laws to ensure that 77 per cent of England's waterways reach good condition by 2027. At the moment, just 16 per cent are rated as good.

Environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey has said issues with sewage showed the water industry was in an 'extraordinary state of chaos'. 

He pointed the finger at the EA, saying the problems were the result of decades of regulatory failure, underinvestment and profiteering.

Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Tim Farron said: 'The public will question the appropriateness of these bonuses, but they are short change compared to the multi-billion-pound profits water firms have been allowed to make under this Conservative government's watch.' 

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the EA's chairman Alan Lovell had accepted a £96 meal from industry body Water UK, a £200 dinner-and-hotel stay from Yorkshire Water and a £60 dinner from Severn Trent Water.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: 'Our staff work around the clock to protect the environment and public from harm.

'The increase in bonus figures reflects an increase in our overall workforce. All bonuses are fully scrutinised and awarded in line with clear Cabinet Office pay guidelines.'