Charlotte Church performs on the banks of the River Usk

Performing the Nick Drake classic River Man as crowds assembled by the Usk Bridge, Ms Church showed she is still the greatest voice of her generation.

Before the performance Ms Church took the time to speak to the Argus about the state of the river, as well as her passion for the natural world.

As blunt as she is obscene she simply declared “If this river fails we are ******d” going on to say that “it’s almost dead” .

Ms Church’s comments were supported by Kim Waters from the Welsh Rivers Union, who said the problems are caused by phosphates and nitrates being dumped in the river, along with human faeces from sewage and slurry from dairy farms.

The overall impact has seen a decimation of the life in the river, Mr Waters said, adding that salmon in the Usk used to be so plentiful that the local pub is called The Three Salmons - but now the species “is on the edge of extinction”.

The appropriately-named Mr Waters, who grew up in Newport, said says his passion for the water is personal, saying: “This was my playground. As a nine-year-old I was swimming in it, fishing in it, it used to be fabulous.”

But now, when his daughter swims in rivers Mr Waters says he warns her to “keep her mouth shut”.

Ms Church’s performance took place in front of the picturesque Usk Bridge, backed by a guitar player and string quartet all defying the heat to wear hazmat suits and masks, with a crowd of supportive protestors holding signs ranging from the direct “pump it elsewhere" to the more whimsical “the Last of Usk”.

Ms Church said: “The performance was really wonderful, it felt really evocotive to be doing it right next to the beautiful river with these amazing musicians.

Charlotte Church on the banks of the River Usk (Image: Supplied)

"It is a really enchanting song, almost like it casts a spell so I hope when people receive it they feel more passionate, like they want to protect the rivers."

Ms Church summed up her reason for the performance by drawing attention to how many people are affected by it.

“I really think that there are so many people whose livelihoods depend on the river, or even who just go for morning walks every morning with their dog," she said.

"It’s a wonderful thing to come fishing with their kids. It’s literally symptomatic of the problem that we are degrading nature at such a rate that we’re gonna wipe ourselves out."

“The government have a huge part to play in it, because it’s about responsibility and accountability at every layer,” she added.

Ms Church ended by issuing a rally call, saying: “I adore Wales, I adore all of the wildlife, I adore the UK, I adore nature and I know it’s key to our survival”.

Welsh Water, which is responsible for the River Usk running through Wales, has been contacted for comment.