Boys sick after river swimming

THE mothers of a group of teenage boys who were violently sick after swimming in the River Thames near Henley are demanding answers.

The seven boys, aged 14 and 15, enjoyed a day in the sun by the river but within 36 hours five of them suffered vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach pain which their mothers believe was caused by pollution in the water.

One said: “Why shouldn’t they be able to enjoy themselves in the river in their own town? It makes me really angry.”

The incident comes after growing criticism of sewage discharges into the river and an admission by the chief executive of Thames Water that it’s unacceptable.

The boys, who all attend Gillotts School in Henley, spent most of the day on Sunday, May 21 by the river in Remenham.

Morgen Azzari Wynn-Jones, 15, began complaining of feeling unwell the following evening.

His mother Alexandra said: “Around dinner time he said: ‘Mummy, I don’t feel well’ and I thought: ‘How weird’. I thought maybe it was the food but we had all eaten the same food and I wasn’t sick nor was my other son.

“Morgen then woke up at around midnight and vomited through to the early morning. I couldn’t sleep because I could hear him.

“I got him a hot water bottle for his stomach pain and made him some tea but he couldn’t drink
anything.”

Mrs Azzari Wynn-Jones said her son was still in pain the next day and lost his appetite and had to have three days off school.

“He would vomit every hour and a bit,” she said. “He was exhausted from all the throwing up.”

Theo Estornel, also 15, suffered what his mother Diane called a sudden “expulsion” at 4am on the Tuesday.

She said: “He didn’t make it to the bathroom so it was over his bedroom. He obviously woke up and knew something was about to happen, jumped up but didn’t make it. For the next three and a half hours he was violently vomiting to the stage where he was just retching. There was nothing else, not even bile, and he couldn’t keep water down.

“He didn’t even want to go back to bed once it started. He just wanted to stay with his head over the toilet and he did that from 4.30am until about 8am.

“He went back to sleep around 8am and slept through and had a slight temperature when he woke up which waned over the afternoon and the next day. He also had diarrhoea later on that day and kept having stomach cramps.”

The boys’ friends Henry French and Ben Griffith were also sick and had two days off school while another was sick at Gillotts.

Mrs Estornel said that when she learned five boys had been ill she set up a group chat with the other mothers.

“We all talked about it and we were in disbelief and wanting answers,” she said.

“We realised it was something they had in common. We thought maybe they’d had a barbecue or shared water but they hadn’t. It couldn’t possibly be a coincidence for five out of seven of them to be violently ill 24 hours after being together and having the same symptoms. We’re not saying it is definitely from the river but that’s the conclusion we came to.”

The women informed the school which issued a warning to other parents in the school newsletter.

Mrs Azzari Wynn-Jones also alerted Henley Town Council and says she tried to reach the Environment Agency but couldn’t get through.

She said: “We live in a town with a river and it’s lovely that we are able to swim but if it isn’t safe to do so, we need the information so that we and our children are advised.

“To be honest, until this I was not aware that the water isn’t particularly clean.”

Mrs Azzari Wynn-Jones posted on a Facebook community group asking for advice and was shocked when other people responded with similar experiences.

She said: “What shocked me the most was that they are throwing sewage in the water and we have athletes coming here from all over the world. Are they aware of the state of the water? Since rowing brings so much money to the town and is a big part of our local economy, why are they throwing sewage in the water? Something needs to be done about it. There should be warnings all over the river.”

Mrs Estornel said: “We looked at Thames Water’s interactive discharge map but it’s really difficult to find what you’re looking for because there are so many points to look at and think about how they relate to you.

“I first checked and it said ‘Location not recognised’ so I had to zoom in to find out where it is.

“You have to think about currents and be a scientist in some ways to even work out how and where it’s getting in the water. I think we have the right to know.

“Why is it allowed and who’s allowing it? Why are we paying all these massive water bills for our sewage to be put into our local rivers? It’s just crazy.”

Mrs Azzari Wynn-Jones said: “I feel really sad because all the boys are now saying they won’t swim anymore. They are scared, bless them.

“It was a whole part of their summer, something they were really looking forward to doing together and they’re young teenagers.

“We complain about our children being on screens, playing video games, but when they could be out enjoying themselves doing water activities which are great for mental health, they won’t be able to because the water is polluted.”

Jo Robb, who represents the Green Party on South Oxfordshire District Council and is a member of the Henley Mermaids, an open water swimming group, which campaigns for clean rivers, said: “I understand that there hasn’t been a sewage discharge from Fawley for some time, although it’s important for people to know that even when sewage treatment works are operating lawfully and within their permits, the treated effluent contains faecal bacteria.

“That’s because water companies are required to treat effluent to environmental health standards.

“I personally have been sick a number of times from swimming in the Thames and I know that friends have been ill swimming in that stretch of the river.

“I avoid swimming upstream of Hambleden Lock for that reason and prefer to swim at the Flower Pot, Medmenham or upstream of Marsh Lock.

“Whatever made the boys ill could also have come from other sources.

“A solution would be for the water to be given bathing water status, something environmental organisation Thames21 has been campaigning for.

“This places an obligation on water companies to treat effluent to human health standards and to remove faecal bacteria from treated effluent.

“It also gives the public information on water quality including levels of faecal bacteria so they can make an informed decision as to whether or not to swim.

“Henley Town Council is working with Thames21 to apply for bathing water status for Henley. Thames21 is also re-applying for bathing water status at Wallingford after an application was refused earlier this year for no clear reasons. Communities want clean rivers for nature and people and an end to sewage dumping.”

The interactive discharge map on Thames Water’s website shows that diluted wastewater was discharged into the river near Remenham for four minutes on May 18. Further up the river, diluted wastewater was discharged for 12 hours on May 9.

The practice of discharging sewage into the water happens when flows exceed their capacity as a way of preventing blockages.

Last year, Thames Water dumped raw sewage into the Thames and its tributaries in West Oxfordshire 507 times, lasting for 6,362 hours.

Nationally, raw sewage was dumped into rivers and seas for 1.75 million hours, or 825 times a day on average, last year.

This has been criticised by environmental campaigners because untreated sewage contains bacteria such as E.coli and viruses including hepatitis that can be harmful to animals and humans.

Swimming in water where untreated sewage is discharged can lead to serious illnesses such as stomach bugs, which may cause diarrhoea and vomiting as well as respiratory, skin, ear and eye infections.

Wildlife including fish and insects can also experience kidney issues and die from sewage pollution.

Dr Will Hearsey, of the Hart Street Surgery in Henley, said: “There is never a good time to ingest water which is contaminated.

“Generally speaking, there is cryptosporidium, shigella, E.coli, which cause gastroenteritis and leptospirosis, also known as Weil’s disease.

“I would imagine there are increased risks of bugs being transmitted and an increased likelihood of getting ill because of sewage discharge.

“It’s important to be aware of that and challenge why it’s happening and whether or not it should be.”

A Thames Water spokeswoman said: “We regard all discharges of untreated sewage as unacceptable.

“Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus for us and we want to make discharges of diluted sewage unnecessary as quickly as possible.

“That is why we’ve committed to invest £1.6 billion in our sewage treatment works and sewers over the next two years and have recently published our plans to upgrade more than 250 of our sites.

“In January we launched an interactive map showing near real-time storm
discharge activity, as indicated by our event duration monitors.

“This allows users to search a location and obtain information on when that area last saw a discharge. We are the first company to provide sewage discharge alerts for inland waters.

“We would always encourage caution to those who like to swim in rivers as animal faeces from livestock and wildlife, along with run-off from farms and roads, also contributes to the hazards found in rivers.”

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “More than 400 coastal and inland waters popular with swimmers are monitored and protected from sources of pollution known to be a health risk to river-users.

“The River Thames at Remenham is not one of these designated bathing waters, so swimming is not advised there.

“Anyone who suspects pollution in our rivers or seas can call our incident hotline number 0800 807060.”