Children fall ill after swimming in river after reports of 16-hour sewage spil

At least seven children became ill after swimming in part of a river where 16 hours of sewage had been discharged days earlier, it has emerged.

Several youngsters suffered severe vomiting and upset stomachs on the hottest day of the year while splashing around in the River Dart, in the Chulmleigh and Chawleigh area.

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It was only later discovered via an online sewage discharge map that South West Water had dumped untreated sewage upstream for approximately 16 hours earlier in the week.

Kelly Vipond’s two children went in the water, and her 12-year-old son began feeling sick the following day.

Her oldest son also fell ill a few days later, while other children who swam were projectile vomiting"

Speaking to the Express, Ms Vipond said: “It’s devastating that we can’t go in our local river. It’s a very small tributary. I was aware of the impact of sewage in our rivers. I had researched it a couple of years ago, and the little River Dart came out that it wasn’t too bad and didn’t have as much sewage as other local rivers.

“I was absolutely furious after that happened. I was absolutely livid. I was almost kicking myself that I didn’t look. I didn’t even think to check. We’d had torrential downpours two days before. I don’t think we’ll be going locally again. It’s put us off.”

Ms Vipond contacted the Environment Agency, who said SWW were going to do tests at the site, but that would only happen the following day at the earliest.

Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesman Tim Farron MP said: “Hot summers are here to stay and naturally kids want to enjoy lakes, rivers and seas up and down the country, yet they are being put at constant risk by water companies.

“South West Water got their accounts back into the green, but have put their customers in the brown.

“Flagrant abuses by water companies using their monopolies to carve out profits, at the cost of public health, are unacceptable. Children naturally want to paddle during this extreme weather, but face the risk of sickness thanks to sustained sewage dumping across Britain. We cannot afford to hesitate - replace Ofwat with a clean water authority now."

It comes as the former boss of South West Water was handed a £270,000 bonus despite a parasite outbreak that contaminated drinking water, left more than 140 people ill and caused a major public health scandal in the region.

Susan Davy, the former chief executive of South West Water owner Pennon Group, also received £100,000 for private security over two years while overseeing the company during the major water quality failures.

Davy, who left the role in December, was paid the allowance in two £50,000 instalments between 2024 and 2025.

South West Water’s owners, Pennon, also reported last month that they turned a pre-tax profit of £114 million, not long after they were handed a £1.8million fine for the 2024 Brixham cryptosperidium outbreak that hospitalised four people.

Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon Ian Roome said: "It is absolutely infuriating that families in Devon are apparently expected to consult a live sewage map before allowing their children to paddle in a local river. Last year, South West Water spilled sewage into bathing sites across the region over 7,900 times, that’s 22 times per day. Enough is enough, and parents should not be made to feel guilty for letting their children enjoy nature, particularly during the weather we are seeing.”

“South West Water keeps getting away with discharging filthy sewage into our rivers, and we will look with interest at the results of their tests."

A spokeswoman for Pennon said: “We’re sorry to hear people have been unwell and we take reports like this seriously. We are unable to comment on individual cases, but it is important to note that there are many factors that can affect river water quality, including agricultural and urban pollution.

“Following notification of the incident, we carried out on-site water quality testing at locations on the river, which did not indicate any evidence of pollution at the points tested.

“Our data also shows local storm overflows in the area were operating as they should. Even so, we are investing £760 million to tackle storm overflows and have already reduced spills by 17% over the past year."

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “We are investigating this spill and will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action, if appropriate.

“More people, better data and increased powers enable us to act on intelligence about potential offences.

"We have also significantly increased our inspections of water company assets, completing over 10,000 in the year ending March 2026, rooting out wrongdoing and driving better performance."