A mum whose 13-year-old son was hospitalised after drinking tap water infected with parasites has rejected the water company boss’s apology.
Kayley Lewis’s son Jacob was rushed to hospital on May 5 with dehydration and blood in his vomit after ingesting cryptosporidium parasites which leaked into water supplies in Brixham, south Devon.
South West Water (SWW) CEO Susan Davy apologised for the ‘anxiety’ caused by the disruption, as she acknowledged the firm had ‘fallen significantly short’ of customer expectations.
But Ms Lewis — who is still suffering symptoms — said she didn’t accept the apology and called on water chiefs to say sorry to residents in person.
She said: ‘I don’t accept the apology. I think they need to mean it and they can show that by keeping up maintaining the water pipes.
Jacob Lewis, 13, had to spend the night in hospital with severe dehydration caused by the cryptosporidium parasites
Jacob’s mum Kayley Lewis has refused to accept South West Water’s apology for the parasite outbreak
‘The statement feels like they are covering their own backs, even after all this is finished they know the backlash they are going to get.
‘I do think the chief executive is responsible, I guess these things can happen but they haven’t been quick enough to deal with it once they discovered the problem.
‘They should have acted quicker. I think the bosses need to come down here and arrange something at Brixham Town Hall so they can speak to the people who are affected and explain what happened and when.’
She also criticised the £115 compensation payments being offered by the firm, saying victims deserve more.
‘I was angry when I found out the cause,’ she said. ‘We had joked that it must be something in the water but only because we were sure it was a bug.
‘When Jacob fell ill we were told to keep him hydrated so we fed him more water, which actually made him worse.’
After six days of vomiting, stomach pains and watery diarrhoea, Kayley called 111 and was advised to take football-loving Jacob to hospital.
Kayley said: ‘Jacob was quite ill on May 5, he had blood in his sick, so they said he needed to go to A&E. My partner drove him to Torbay Hospital and stayed in with him because I couldn’t leave my other two. But I was also feeling crampy at this point.
‘Jacob ended up in hospital overnight with severe dehydration. I then started to feel really unwell the following day and had awful stomach pains and watery diarrhoea which lasted six days.
‘My other son Oscar is doing his SATS exams this week but I am having to drop him off just to sit his exam and then pick him up due to him still having diarrhoea and cramps. Both my boys have missed a lot of school due to it too.
‘My youngest daughter Daisy has only had stomach cramps. I took in my sample to the doctors and they have said every sample is now going to a team that is investigating.’
The family lives a short distance downhill from the Hillhead reservoir which has been traced as the source of the outbreak.
Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall last night announced the source of the outbreak was a damaged air valve which ‘may have allowed animal waste or contaminated groundwater to enter the local supply’.
Today, dozens of SWW workers remained at the site while a steady stream of water has been running down nearby roads, reportedly from efforts to empty the reservoir.
Whole streets are being struck down with diarrhoea and vomiting after drinking contaminated tap water, despite residents warning South West Water their supply ‘hasn’t tasted right for weeks’.
Virtually all the residents of Ocean View Drive, where Kayley lives, and nearby Raddicombe Close, claim to have suffered symptoms.
Virtually all the residents of Raddicombe Close have fallen ill. Pictured: Helen Ireland, Terry Whitehouse and Janet Merritt
Terry Whitehouse says the water company assured him the water was safe
South West Water has started handing out bottled water to affected customers
In Raddicombe Close, a smart cul-de-sac of 21 homes less than half a mile from the Hillhead underground reservoir in Brixham, only one resident said they hadn’t had symptoms, which she credits with only drinking fizzy bottled water.
Despite several 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 says her water has tasted right for weeks
Dennis Hollier, whose wife Elaine has been hospitalised due to drinking the water
Dennis Hollier and wife Elaine, who was hospitalised with severe dehydration
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.
Locals in Brixham have been advised to boil their tap water before use
South West Water says the contamination may have entered the water supply through a faulty valve
‘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.
Tom Bayliss, six, and his sister Grace, two, at Hadsham Farm in Horley, Oxfordshire. It’s believed they caught cryptosporidiosis from the lambs
‘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’s lambs were found to be negative for cryptosporidiosis, but they closed the lambing event as a precaution
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.