At least seven children were left battling upset stomachs and severe vomiting after unknowingly swimming in a river where untreated sewage had been discharged for 16 hours straight. The youngsters decided to take a dip in the River Dart in Devon on the hottest day of the year, with temperatures topping 35C in the county last Friday.
It later emerged South West Water had discharged untreated sewage upstream for around 16 hours just days earlier. Kelly Vipond says her two children fell ill after swimming in the water. Her 12-year-old son began feeling sick the following day, while her oldest son fell ill a few days later. Other children who swam were struck down by "projectile vomiting," reports the Express.
Parents' anger and frustration
Ms Vipond said: "It's devastating that we can't go in our local river. It's a very small tributary. I was aware of the impact of sewage in our rivers. I had researched it a couple of years ago, and the little River Dart came out that it wasn't too bad and didn't have as much sewage as other local rivers. I was absolutely furious after that happened. I was absolutely livid. I was almost kicking myself that I didn't look. I didn't even think to check. We'd had torrential downpours two days before. I don't think we'll be going locally again. It's put us off."
Ms Vipond contacted the Environment Agency, who said South West Water were going to do tests at the site, but that would only happen the following day at the earliest.
Company's controversial bonuses and fines
It comes as the company's former CEO was given a £270,000 bonus, despite a parasite outbreak which contaminated drinking water and left more than 140 people ill. Susan Davy also received £100,000 for private security over two years while overseeing the company during the major water quality failures. Davy, who left the role in December, was paid the allowance in two £50,000 instalments between 2024 and 2025.
South West Water's owners, Pennon, recorded an interim pre-tax profit of £114 million soon after being slapped with a £1.8 million fine for the 2024 Brixham cryptosporidium outbreak that left four hospitalised.
Political reaction
Ian Roome, Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon, said it was "absolutely infuriating" that families in Devon were "apparently expected to consult a live sewage map" before letting their children paddle in a local river. "Last year, South West Water spilled sewage into bathing sites across the region over 7,900 times, that's 22 times per day," he said. "Enough is enough, and parents should not be made to feel guilty for letting their children enjoy nature, particularly during the weather we are seeing."
"South West Water keeps getting away with discharging filthy sewage into our rivers, and we will look with interest at the results of their tests."
Company and regulator responses
A spokeswoman for Pennon said: "We're sorry to hear people have been unwell and we take reports like this seriously. We are unable to comment on individual cases, but it is important to note that there are many factors that can affect river water quality, including agricultural and urban pollution. Following notification of the incident, we carried out on-site water quality testing at locations on the river, which did not indicate any evidence of pollution at the points tested. Our data also shows local storm overflows in the area were operating as they should. Even so, we are investing £760 million to tackle storm overflows and have already reduced spills by 17% over the past year."
An Environment Agency spokesman said: "We are investigating this spill and will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action, if appropriate. More people, better data and increased powers enable us to act on intelligence about potential offences. We have also significantly increased our inspections of water company assets, completing over 10,000 in the year ending March 2026, rooting out wrongdoing and driving better performance."
