Devon water crisis – live: MP brands South West Water ‘contemptible and incompetent’ as parasite infections rise

Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia (UEA), told the BBC that the parasite could be in the incubation period for up to two weeks.

“One of the problems when you’re investigating outbreaks like this is that the incubation period can be about 10 days to two weeks, so often in the past when I’ve been involved in investigating outbreaks by the time you know you’ve got a problem, the problem has resolved itself anyway, but you can’t guarantee that,” he said.

“Even if they have stopped all new infections by now, you would expect to see further cases for at least 10 days to two weeks.”

A spokeswoman from Number 10 has said that the prime minister “understands the stress and worry this has caused residents”.

“He’s very clear that this must be investigated thoroughly by the Drinking Water Inspectorate and UK Health Security Agency.”

“Any water company that’s found to be in breach of rules on drinking water should expect to face the appropriate enforcement action up to and including criminal prosecution.”

The government has announced a quadrupling of inspections and provided increased powers to Ofwat and the Environment Agency to hold water companies to account, the spokeswoman added.

The UK Health Security Agency said on Friday that 46 cases of cryptosporidiosis, a disease that can cause symptoms including diarrhoea and vomiting, had been confirmed in the town, and hundreds more reported symptoms.

Chaz Attwood told Sky News his wife had been ill for 16 days after drinking the contaminated water.

“My wife has been drinking water to keep hydrated because she’s diabetic and the insulin that she’s had to have has doubled, and basically that affected her to start with,” he said.

“So that’s made her worse. We’re in a dreadful state. She was so weak I even phoned 999, and told the guy what was happening because she’d collapsed.”

A damaged air valve on a pipe in a field containing cattle has been identified as a potential source leading to the existence of small traces of parasite in a local water network.

South West Water’s (SWW) chief customer officer, Laura Flowerdew, said it is possible that cattle manure caused the contamination.

“We have identified that there is a damaged air valve on our network just near the Hillhead reservoir but we absolutely want to make sure that that is the only source,” she told Sky News.

Asked if it was animal faeces that infiltrated the network, she said: “We understand that this is a valve on one of the pipes that head towards the Hillhead reservoir, not on the reservoir itself.

“It’s in a farmer’s field and I understand that there are cattle in that field and therefore there’s a possibility that that is therefore the source of the contamination.”

She added that work is still under way to determine the cause of the contamination but that the damaged air valve “does look like it’s a potential source”.

Conservative MP Anthony Mangnall, whose Totnes constituency includes Brixham, said SWW’s response to the parasite outbreak in the seaside town had been inadequate.

“The predominant failure is the fact that earlier in the week, South West Water was asked whether or not this was to do with their network and they categorically ruled it out, only for them to change their position 24 hours later, which I think is contemptible and just generally incompetent – and it’s put a lot of people’s health at risk,” he told the PA news agency yesterday.

Mr Mangnall added that SWW had failed to “safeguard public health” and would “be absolutely on the line” to compensate local businesses which have lost money because of the outbreak.

As the UK Health Security Agency announced there had been 46 confirmed cases, with more than 100 people reporting similar symptoms on Friday afternoon, Keith Johnson, who runs Rio’s Fish & Chips, says he’s had no customers in the first hour-and-a-half of lunchtime opening, reports Alex Ross.

Johnson, who took over after moving from the West Midlands, says the outbreak of an illness caused by the parasite cryptosporidium has rocked the town.

“We’ve been blacklisted,” he says. “No-one is around, it’s so obvious. We usually get coach drops coming in during the week, but we’ve had nothing and the hotels have reported cancellations.

People living in the Devon area affected by the waterborne parasite outbreak are dissatisfied with the water company’s response to the situation.

South West Water (SWW) say they have found the source of the parasite and CEO Susan Davy said she was “truly sorry”. The company first announced £115 in compensation to affected customers, which has now been raised to an additional £100.

Anthony Mangnall, MP for Totnes, a constituency which includes Brixham, said he was aware of concerns over the quality of drinking water in the town.

“I am very concerned about SWW’s response to this situation, as they have been slow to act and communication with customers has been very poor,” said Mr Mangnall.

Thousands of households in Devon can safely drink their tap water without boiling it first, the area’s water supplier South West Water (SWW) announced after a parasite outbreak led to hundreds falling ill.

About 14,500 households in the Alston supply have been told they can drink their water safely, while 2,500 properties in Hillhead, the upper parts of Brixham and Kingswear still have to follow the advisory to boil their water before drinking.

The water supplier said that a “rigorous testing” of the water along with a consultation with the UK Health Security Agency and local authority’s environmental health department led to the decision yesterday.

SWW has also added that an additional £100 compensation, on top of the £115 that was announced earlier, would be paid to affected customers.

Close to 16,000 households and businesses in the region were told earlier this week not to use their tap water for drinking without boiling and cooling it first.