South West Water contamination forces faculty to close – LIVE updates

Here’s a map showing the areas affected by the South West Water contamination outbreak in Devon.

The largest area within the zone outlined by South West Water’s ‘boil water’ notice, meaning residents should boil water before using it to drink, cook or brush their teeth, is Brixham.

Brixham is a town with a population of just under 17,000 people and is one of the main centres in the borough of Torbay along with Paignton and Torquay.

South West Water has told residents a second bottled water station has been set up this morning.

It said those living in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and North West Paignton can now collect water from Freshwater Quarry car park in Brixham, in addition to Broadsands car park.

The firm added it would continue to deliver supplies to vulnerable people.

Residents have expressed concerns a bottled water station set up by South West Water is not easily accessible to elderly and vulnerable residents.

Brixham resident Guy Highfield, who said he fell ill last week, said the chosen location for a water station in Goodrington was ‘nowhere near’ the Hillhead area where some of those, who are affected by the contaminated water, are based.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Highfield said he picked up about ’20 homes’ worth of bottled water to deliver to others.

We’re only here because we’ve seen it on social media. Even the leaflet drop person last night didn’t tell us we could come and collect it. Get a delivery drop out to some of the elderly and vulnerable people in those areas.

While, local residents speaking to Good Morning Britain earlier today added they had dropped off water to neighbours.

One woman, named Mary, said:

There are a lot of people who are disabled, vulnerable, elderly – they can’t get to these places, so I thought I’d do my bit.

MailOnline reporters Dan Grennan and Kitty Lawton reported how the dirty water crisis affecting parts of Devon could last for up to 10 days.

Read the full story here:

Richard Gaisford, Good Morning Britain’s Chief Correspondent, has been in Brixham this morning as attention focuses on Devon following a contaminated water outbreak.

Mr Gaisford tweeted: Brixham. A beautiful place with a worrying water problem. Hundreds, potentially thousands, say they’re now sick after drinking from the local supply.’

See his report below:

The parasite at the centre of the contaminated water outbreak in Devon is called cryptosporidium, commonly known as ‘crypto’.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Once the parasite enters the digestive system it causes symptoms like watery diarrhoea, stomach pain, vomiting, a fever, and loss of appetite
• Medics technically call this disease cryptosporidiosis
• Sufferers often have to endure these symptoms for two weeks before it is finally clear from their systems, but bouts of illness can last even longer, particularly in people with weakened immune systems like cancer patients
• Victims can also experience periods of false hope where their symptoms clear for a few days, making them believe they are finally over the infection, only for it to return
• Most people aren’t offered treatment for crypto and instead are told to drink plenty of fluids and minimise contact with other people while waiting until symptoms pass

Local residents living in areas affected by contaminated water have claimed there is no bottled water left on the shelves in the town shops because of panic buying.

Mrs Hudson, who we reported fell ill with symptoms last week, said she hasn’t been able to buy any bottled water at all which was echoed by fellow resident Karen Chapman.

While pictures shared on social media show bare shelves in Paignton.

Mrs Chapman added:

I have had no water all day because everywhere is sold out of bottles. It reminds me of the panic buying toilet rolls during Covid.

MailOnline has heard from a Devon resident who has fallen ill.

Retiree Kathy Hudson, 67, from Brixham, said she began to notice changes to her skin in the last couple of weeks.

I have been ill since last week with cramps, diarrhoea, sickness and dizziness. My daughter-in-law has also got ill.

I don’t want to know what is in the water I have been drinking but now they are saying not to wash your hands, can you shower? What’s it going to do to you?

I have been coming out with terrible eczema in the last couple of weeks which I haven’t in ages

I think South West Water made a mess for themselves by saying yesterday there was nothing wrong with the water and to keep drinking it. They should’ve been testing the water before it happened.

A public health official in Devon has indicated he is confident the contaminated water outbreak will soon be brought under control despite hundreds of residents reporting illness symptoms.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health for Torbay, BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said:

This was reported as an outbreak on Tuesday morning and by Wednesday we had a credible source that it was likely to be a reservoir serving the TQ5 postcode such as Brixham and neighbouring areas.

South West Water has been investigating and continues to test. This is of course an ongoing situation, but we are pretty certain at this point with the boil water notice and ongoing investigation and remediation of water supply there that the primary source would have stopped.

What we are now focusing on is making sure we don’t have any spread from those initial cases.

Dr Sargeant added that the full picture on how the cryptosporidium got into the water supply will come after tests have been completed.

South West Water has urged residents in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and north-east Paignton to boil their water as a precaution – including when drinking it or using it to cook with and brush teeth.

The water firm added bottled water stations will be set up in the affected areas as soon as possible but schools last night said they had not received any assurances when water would be delivered.

Public health officials say boiling water can help eradicate the parasite causing a range of symptoms such as diarrhoea, stomach pains, nausea and loss of appetite.

Schools have said their doors will remain shut today for safety reasons without clean water.

Eden Park Primary School (pictured above) in Brixham told parents last night that their children would have to spend the day at home, except for pupils finishing their final SATs exam this morning, after it learned it would have to boil tap water.

In a statement the school said:

The school have taken swift action to put safety plans in place and contact the appropriate authorities about providing safe drinking water.

At the time of writing this update (7.30pm), and despite repeated calls to South West Water about the urgency of the situation, the school has not received any bottled water or assurances of when water will be delivered. To enable parents and carers to make childcare plans for the morning, leaders have made the difficult decision to close the school tomorrow, Thursday 16th May.

All Year 6 children should attend the school as usual, to complete their final SATs paper in the morning. They should bring their own full water bottle and be collected at 11:15am. The school will also provide bottled water for children and staff in school tomorrow. No other children should attend the school.

A further update will be provided tomorrow afternoon, regarding the opening the school on Friday 17th May. Thank you for understanding with this rapidly changing situation.

Here’s a brief rundown of what we know this morning on the contaminated water outbreak in Devon:

• Schools in the county have been forced to close as staff insisted they could not safely open for pupils without clean drinking water on the grounds
• South West Water has told residents across Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and Paignton to boil water as a precaution – including when drinking it or using it to cook with and brush teeth –
• Bottled water stations were set up on Wednesday to provide clean, safe water for residents to take home.
• The water firm initially claimed that its treatment works were not to blame but has since backtracked – prompting fury from local Tory MP Anthony Mangnall, who said its failure to act had been ‘enormously frustrating’.
• Locals who believe they have been struck down by the parasite, which can be eradicated by boiling water, have reported symptoms including severe stomach cramps, dehydration, high fevers and ‘explosive diarrhoea’ that have crippled them and their families.

We will bring you the latest developments throughout the day.

MailOnline will provide live updates as contaminated water in Devon has resulted in hundreds of people being struck down by a mystery illness and forced schools to close.

South West Water has urged people to boil their tap water until further notice after people reported a range of symptoms including watery diarrhoea, stomach pains, nausea or vomiting, a mild fever, and loss of appetite.

We will bringing you the latest updates on this developing story