‘The water hasn’t tasted right for weeks’: Devon streets where ‘hundreds’ have been struck by cryptosporidium outbreak, with elderly and children as young as 12 hospitalised

Whole streets are being struck down with diarrhoea and vomiting after drinking contaminated tap water, with some needing hospital treatment — despite warning South West Water their supply ‘hasn’t tasted right for weeks’.

Virtually all the residents of Ocean View Drive and Raddicombe Close in the seaside town of Brixham, Devon, claim to have suffered symptoms following an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis parasites.

South West Water believes the parasites got into the town’s water supply from animal manure via a faulty air valve.

Kayleigh Lewis, of Ocean View Drive, told how her eldest son had been taken to hospital with severe dehydration on May 5.

‘He ended up in A&E in Torbay hospital overnight,’ she said. ‘Then I started [feeling unwell] on the Monday, which was the 6 May, and then [her middle son] Oscar started on the Tuesday.’ 

Residents of Raddicombe Close, a smart cul-de-sac of 21 homes less than half a mile from the Hillhead underground reservoir in Brixham, say the majority of the street has been struck down.

Of the people who spoke to MailOnline, only one said they hadn’t had symptoms, which she credits with only drinking fizzy bottled water.

Despite several residents complaining to South West Water that their tap water had developed an unpleasant taste and was causing sickness, stomach pain and diarrhoea, locals were repeatedly told it was safe to drink.

Retiree Janet Merritt, 67, said: ‘Most people up here have been ill. I thought it was just me but we have a Facebook group and everybody was saying the tap water doesn’t taste right.

‘I became unwell and developed severe stomach cramps and terrible diarrhoea. I poured myself a drink of water from the tap and it had a strange aftertaste so I said to my husband I’m going to let South West Water know and contact my GP.

‘They were very polite but I got an email back saying we’ve tested the water it’s safe. I decided to boil it anyway as I don’t trust it.

‘It’s not rocket science if so many people are getting sick and the water doesn’t taste right there is a connection.

‘I’m angry because what they should have done is tell people to boil the water earlier as a precaution but they didn’t. I don’t feel we have been protected and they could have looked out for our wellbeing.’

Terry Whitehouse, 70, a retired carpenter who has lived in the street for 12 years said: ‘There has been so many complaints from here, all the same.

‘I phoned up earlier this week after me and my son were both ill. They said there’s nothing wrong with the water sir, it’s fine, keep on drinking it.

‘My son is the worst affected because he’s into bodybuilding and has three or four litres of tap water a day.

‘I said is it the water that’s upsetting people and they denied it then the very next day they said there were 22 cases but on the local social media there were 200 or 300 cases.

‘Then suddenly yesterday we get a piece of paper through the door telling us to boil our drinking water.’

Helen Ireland, 49, a support services manager at a care home, said she fell violently ill around the bank holiday.

Both she and her partner contacted South West Water’s customer services team but were told the water was safe and to carry on drinking it.

She said: ‘I was ill around the Bank Holiday. My son’s fiancee had it too and they went abroad so she was ill on the plane and spent the whole journey on the plane loo.

‘Four of us have had it in our house, I think we’ve been drinking it for weeks.

‘I’m disappointed with how long it’s taken them to warn us when it’s quote clear the common denominator was the water supply.

‘It’s frustrating really because I was on WhatsApp talking to South West Water and at the exact same time as they were telling me to carry on drinking the water they were posting on the website advice to boil the water.

‘Our water hasn’t tasted right for weeks, it tasted stale and my stomach pains were very painful. And of course when you’re ill they say drink plenty of water which was making it worse.’

Elaine Hollier, an 80-year-old grandmother who lives in the street, was rushed to hospital with severe dehydration on Saturday after suffering diarrhoea and vomiting for two weeks.

Her husband of 60 years, Dennis Hollier, said: ‘She was absolutely diabolical. For four days I was trying to help her but I got so worried I phoned 111.

‘The hospital didn’t know how to treat her because they didn’t know what was infecting her.

‘She had severe stomach pains and could hardly talk because she was so dehydrated.

‘As soon as they confirmed there was a bug in the water the doctors said, “we know how to treat you now”.

‘I have been worried sick, I was even told to stay away from the hospital because they didn’t know what it was.’ 

A dozen vans from South West Water were lined up outside a pumping station where the outbreak is believed to have been detected earlier this week. A stream of water was flowing down the road.

Other locals were told the underground lake – which serves around 40,000 homes – might have to be completely emptied to stop the spread of the parasite and they will have to be switched onto alternative sources of water.

Laura Flowerdew, South West Water’s Chief Customer and Digital Officer, said: ‘We sincerely apologise for the impact this is having on our customers in the Brixham and Alston areas.

‘Protecting the health of our customers and providing them with a clean, fresh drinking water supply is our number one priority and we will continue to work around the clock to make sure that happens as soon as possible.’

Cryptosporidiosis is a waterborne parasite often found in livestock, particularly lambs. It is highly contagious and can pass to humans through ingestion of tiny particles of faeces.

Ms Flowerdew said it had identified a ‘damaged valve on part of our network’ which could have allowed infected animal waste to enter the water supply.

She said: ‘We’re doing further work to make sure we’re absolutely confident that’s the cause and the only cause. We’re working through operational procedures in the meantime. We’re also doing further sampling to make sure we’re really confident in that cause.’

Cases of the could continue for two more weeks, with businesses predicting losses of ‘many thousands’ of pounds.

Around 16,000 households and businesses in the Brixham area of Devon have been told not to use their tap water for drinking without boiling and cooling it first.

Paul Hunter, professor in medicine and infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia (UEA), said residents should ‘expect to see further cases for at least 10 days to two weeks’.

He told BBC Breakfast: ‘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.

‘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.’

Michael Smith, co-owner of the Venus Cafe near Brixham, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme they had seen a 40 per cent drop in business in the last two days.

He added: ‘Come the weekend, sunshine next week and the week after, we’re talking about [losing] many thousands [of pounds].”

Aaron Richardson, a receptionist at Wall Park Touring Caravan campsite in the town, said customers had contacted the park stating it was ‘too risky’ to visit.

He said the park was left without fresh water until Thursday night and had not been contacted by the water company.

South West Water has advised residents of Alston and the Hillhead area of Brixham to boil their tap water before drinking.

Chief customer officer Laura Flowerdew said the company had identified a damaged air valve near the Hillhead reservoir, adding: ‘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.’ 

Separately, a mum told how her family suffered diarrhoea and sickness after visiting a lambing centre in Oxfordshire last month.

Rebecca Bayliss, 36, and her six-year-old son Jake became ill after going to Hadsham Farm in Horley, where visitors can cuddle and feed baby lambs.

Her daughter Grace, two, and her husband Tom, 36 – who didn’t even go to the lambing event – both caught it later at home.

‘It was awful,’ she said. ‘We were all really ill. My son lost loads of weight and was very close to going into hospital because he was so dehydrated. The only way I could get him to drink was to give him flat lemonade.

‘I was just recovering from surgery so it prevented me from going to my follow-up appointment.’

Hadsham Farm later had its lambs tested, but they were found to be negative for cryptosporidiosis. However, the farm closed anyway as a precaution – saying several visitors and staff had come down with diarrhoea and it was ‘highly likely that we are the probable source’ of the bug.