WORKS have begun to remove a Victorian brick sewer on a West Bay beach buried beneath the sand.

Wessex Water is behind the project - and has rebuked rumours that workers were struggling to find the sewer, insisting the work is proceeding as planned.

A section of East Beach has been cordoned off as the works go ahead.

Natural coastal erosion at East Beach has exposed the remains of the sewer, along with other redundant infrastructure such as sheet piling and concrete debris.

The project started on Monday and is expected to take around four weeks.

Some residents suggested that the workers were struggling to locate the sewer but Wessex Water has denied this, stating they are following protocol.

A spokesman from Wessex Water said: "The team are locating the sewer using a GPS - this is standard procedure when locating something buried in the ground.

"The work is all going to plan so far and we do not expect any delay. The nature of the work means it can sometimes take a while to locate the correct area."