A Yorkshire beach will be packed ‘like one in Ibiza’ this Bank Holiday, but bathing in the waters is potentially bad for your health.
Ilkley’s beach is downstream of a sewage treatment plant that releases regular untreated sewage into the River Wharfe.
Yorkshire Water were fined a record £47 million this month after an investigation by Ofwat found that on average the company discharged untreated wastewater into the region’s rivers for an average of seven hours each day in 2023, with almost half of its storm overflows found to be in breach of regulations.
Illustration agent Will Drayson, 33, said: ‘I have swum in the river, but never put my head under.
‘I’ve seen the pipes running into the river from the sewage treatment plant – half of the river was brown and there was a duck and ducklings swimming in that.
Swimmers enjoying a dip at Ilkley beach near Bradford. The beach is downstream of a sewage treatment plant that releases regular untreated sewage into the River Wharfe
Claire Sugrue (centre), 53, from nearby Addingham, who enjoys wild swimming with her friends, said: ‘I would never swim in that part of the river. We went up to Todmorden this week to swim off the highest beach in the UK’
Claire said: ‘The River Wharfe near here is full of unpleasant stuff, but I am at Ilkley Lido up to twice a day and it’s fantastic. The swimming is safe and the water is unpolluted. ‘The lifeguards can be in and out of the water up to five times on a busy day and they keep everyone safe’
Administrator Linda Lofthouse, 61, from nearby Otley, said: ‘I would never swim in it – the River Wharfe is renowned for the sewage and you see people jumping in off that bridge’
‘We live here and know it’s not great and we would so like it to be 100% safe.
‘On a sunny day this beach is like Ibiza – packed with people swimming and paddling and jumping in off the beach.
‘I saw a mum with a baby in the water and the baby was chest deep – you don’t want that water splashing into a child’s mouth let alone a baby.
‘The stark warning sign about the sewage discharge and urging people not to bathe in the water is left across the bridge and the beach is right.’
His girlfriend computer worker Kelly Cellini, 31, said: ‘I have never been in that water and never would. I’ve put my feet in, but when you read those signs you know it’s too much of a risk and I am risk averse.’
Dad Liam Hunter, 43, from Armley, Leeds, did once swim off the beach with his son Tyler, eight, because they had not spotted the sewage warning signs.
Liam said: ‘We both went in the water and the next day after our swim we both had poorly tummies – we never saw those signs and just thought it was something that happens if you swim in a river.
‘After reading those signs we won’t be doing that again – it looks lovely, but you don’t want to swim with untreated sewage.’
Liam Hunter (pictured) went swimming at the beach with his 8-year-old son and both had ‘poorly tummies’ afterwards
Dog walker Shirley Lewis, 53, a gardener, who is a Thames Water customer on holiday in Otley, said: ‘The last Government sold off all the utilities – no other country in Europe would do that’
Yorkshire Water were fined a record £47 million this month after an investigation by Ofwat found that on average the company discharged untreated wastewater into the region’s rivers for an average of seven hours each day in 2023
His colleague Jack Jones, 16, said: ‘I would have come here with my mates for a swim, but having read that sign there is no chance of that.’
Administrator Linda Lofthouse, 61, from nearby Otley, said: ‘I would never swim in it – the River Wharfe is renowned for the sewage and you see people jumping in off that bridge.
‘It’s packed with people on a hot day, they are swimming and paddling – but I wouldn’t even let dogs go in it.’
If you cross the bridge and walk left away from the beach a warning sign reads: ‘Bathing is not advised. This part of the river is located downstream of regular untreated discharges from Ilkley Sewage Treatment Works.’
A local, who declined to give his name, said: ‘The river is literally full of crap, but just a few hundred yards down the road is Ilkley Pool and Lido and it’s safe to swim there.
‘It’s £10.95 for an adult and lots of different charges for children and different times of the day. You won’t be swallowing sewage if you wade in there.
‘They can have around 2,000 people through the doors there, but you probably get a similar number of people wading into the sewage water. The river looks lovely, but the danger is the ecoli and other illnesses that you risk catching from the faeces.’
Claire Sugrue, 53, from nearby Addingham, who enjoys wild swimming with her friends Sally Bullock and Sarah Preston, said: ‘I would never swim in that part of the river. We went up to Todmorden this week to swim off the highest beach in the UK at an old Victorian reservoir and next week we are going to York to swim at the farm ponds that are full of lillies.
The sweage treatment plant close to Ilkley beach which will be packed ‘like one in Ibiza’ this Bank Holiday, but bathing in the waters is potentially bad for your health
Tax professional Toby Tremlett, 32, who was walking his dog Teddy beside the river, said:’I certainly wouldn’t swim in it and I wouldn’t let Teddy go in it’
Retired finance worker Peter Wright, 70, and his wife Dianne, 67, a retired specialist nurse, both agreed that swimming in the Riber Wharfe would be bad for your health
‘The River Wharfe near here is full of unpleasant stuff, but I am at Ilkley Lido up to twice a day and it’s fantastic. The swimming is safe and the water is unpolluted.
‘The lifeguards can be in and out of the water up to five times on a busy day and they keep everyone safe.’
River Keeper Andy Robson, 62, of Boston Spa, said: ‘A lot of people are very, very unaware of the levels of pollution. We control the fish in it and it’s so very surprising how totally and completely unaware people are of the issues.
‘We are situated between two sewage outlets – one upstream of Bolton Spa and the other below.
‘We are taking our own readings every month and supplying them to the Angling Trust. It’s a nationwide survey and we take a sample at the same place each month.
‘I would certainly urge people not to go swimming in that river. With anglers we advocate they gave an antibacterial handgel with them – like we all used during Covid.
‘We tell anglers not to go fishing without it. We had one angler go fishing and some water from the river went into his mouth – he was confined to bed for eight weeks. It was a serious bacterial infection causing gastrointestinal issues.’
Retired finance worker Peter Wright, 70, and his wife Dianne, 67, a retired specialist nurse, both agreed that swimming in the Riber Wharfe would be bad for your health.
Peter, from Bradford, said: ‘We come here with the grandsons and are happy enough with them throwing stones in the river off the beach- they certainly don’t swim in it when they are with us.
‘You get idiots jumping off the bridge, but who jumps into water when you cannot see where the bottom is. Let alone when a lot of the water is polluted by other people’s waste.’
Dianne added: ‘When they were younger they used to paddle in it a bit, but the signs make it clear that it’s not clean.’
Illustration agent Will Drayson (pictured with girlfriend Kelly Cellini) , 33, said: ‘I have swum in the river, but never put my head under. ‘I’ve seen the pipes running into the river from the sewage treatment plant – half of the river was brown’
River Keeper Andy Robson, 62, of Boston Spa, said: ‘A lot of people are very, very unaware of the levels of pollution. We control the fish in it and it’s so very surprising how totally and completely unaware people are of the issues’
Tax professional Toby Tremlett, 32, who was walking his dog Teddy beside the river, said: ‘Last year when it was very hot I recall seeing the colouration of the water from the waste discharge.
‘I recall the grey side of the river and then the pipes and the brown side with a Heron stood in that and it was appalling. You can hear the wastewater running out of those pipes. The poor Heron was stood in sewage and it was so grim.
‘I certainly wouldn’t swim in it and I wouldn’t let Teddy go in it.’
Another dog walker Shirley Lewis, 53, a gardener, who is a Thames Water customer on holiday in Otley, said: ‘The last Government sold off all the utilities – no other country in Europe would do that.
‘The infrastructure needs to be sorted out – they should never have sold off the utilities.
‘It doesn’t look too bad here – I would say that the river in Otley is even worse.’
Another local Barbara Holt, 69, who was taking her grandchildren aged five and three for a sit on the beach, said: ‘We know where the sewage outlet is, so will just be throwing stones in the water.’
Environmental consultant Vicki, 61, who declined to give here surname, but was walking her dog Sparky beside the river, said: ‘The sewage is one thing, but there is also the run off from the fields. Both myself and Sparky don’t like cold water, so we wouldn’t be swimming in it anyway.’