The River Lee navigation in Tottenham.

Shocking new figures show the main river flowing through Tottenham is more polluted than many parts of the River Ganges in India.

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Water charity Thames21 has tested the River Lee every week for the last six months and is now leading the campaign for a clean-up.

Results show faecal e-coli in the river is at 80 times recommended levels making it more polluted than parts of India’s famous river, the charity says.

Chief executive Debbie Leach said: “The river is such an important resource, it’s such a beautiful river and at the moment it’s being used as a drain.

“It’s such a shame for the wildlife in the area, the fish and birds, but also for people’s enjoyment.

“Increasingly people use the river for boating and fishing and it’s a health risk more than anything else. It’s time to do something about it.”

Thames21 is conducting research with University College London and has found raw sewage flows through the river, which it says is “treated like an open sewer”.

Half of all pollution in the River Lee comes from misconnected pipes in homes which flush sewage straight to the river rather than treatment works.

The charity has now launched a Love The Lee campaign appealing for people to check pipes and report river sewage.

Maz Meszarous, who lives on the banks of the River Lee in Bream Close, Tottenham, backed the campaign and said: “I won’t go on the river because it’s disgusting and I think people are really, really concerned about the level of pollution in that water, absolutely.

“There’s no wildlife in it such as insects, I know that’s a sign of just how polluted the water is, and in the last 10 months two adult swans have died.”

Sewage leaks should be reported to Thames21 on 020 7248 7171 or the Environment Agency.