Beauty products 'contaminating water supplies': Ever wondered what happens to the chemicals in your shower gel and shampoo after they have gurgled down the plughole?

According to a new report from the Royal Society of Chemistry, ingredients from beauty products and other everyday household items such as medicines are contaminating UK water supplies even after being processed at water treatment plants.

Launching the report on Monday, the organisation called for more research into the problem and for Government and the industry to place greater emphasis on the future quality of water to protect human and environmental health.

A team of nearly 30 scientists found that contaminants are entering the water system through excretion of medicines and by-products and the use of personal health care products - releasing chemicals that UK water treatment waste works are not designed to remove.

The publication of the report is the first step in a campaign to make water supplies more sustainable in the face of massive population growth, climate change and man-made pollution.