Swimmers are being urged not to swim at the Noorder and Zuider beaches near The Hague, because waste water had been dumped into the sea following Monday’s power cut.

The waste water was piped into the sea because a water purification plant was out of action for several hours. The city is now recommending people avoid the sea until the all clear has again been given by water board officials who are now monitoring the quality of the water.

Meanwhile in Amsterdam, swimmers have been told to avoid a number of popular swimming spots, including the Amstel river and the Marineterrein, because the heavy rain in recent days has caused sewers to overflow.

This means the water quality in some places has been temporarily affected and could make people ill. It will take three to five days to improve, an official told the Parool.