UK-based Premier Foods has been fined £15,000 for exceeding the permitted levels of trade effluent that was discharged into Severn Trent Water's sewer system.The company was also asked to pay legal costs of £5,106.18.

The amount of trade effluent that was discharged on 29 November 2011 was found to contain chemical oxygen that was 26 times more than the permitted limit and suspended solids that were 23 times more than the permitted amount.

Severn Trent Water waste water services director Simon Cocks said that the limits of trade discharges are set in order to manage the company's sewage to work efficiently.

"In addition,our customers are paying for damage to the sewer network and sewage works caused by these kind of incidents,so it's important that we hold companies to account in appropriate cases and take action to recover costs where possible,"added Cocks.