Dog left unable to eat after being poisoned by polluted river - 'I thought I'd lose her'

A woman whose pet dog caught E.coli from a polluted river says she wishes Britain's waterways could go back to how they used to be.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed is set to pledge a 50% reduction in sewage pollution in the next five years, ahead of what's expected to be a scathing report into the UK's water industry on Monday. A recent study by the Consumer Council for Water found complaints are on the rise, with around half (53%) of households feeling that what they are being charged is unfair.

Jane Angel, 59, from Monmouthshire, told this newspaper her pet dog, Tess - a six-year-old Sprollie - was poisoned with E.Coli after playing in her local river last month.

“Tess went down to the river Monnow as she usually does - she loves the water, had a drink and a swim,” she said.

“However, later that evening she was being violently sick everywhere and had diarrhoea. The vet confirmed it was E. coli poisoning from the river.

“Tess had to be on antibiotics for three weeks. She wouldn't eat or drink anything, I was worried sick that I was going to lose her.”

Jane said she hadn’t taken Tess back to the river since, and instead lets her play in a paddling pool in her garden.

“Tess supports me with my mental health and I wouldn't know what to do without her - she's my life,” she added.

Ms Angel said she’d heard of four or five other dogs who had also become ill after playing in the river - yet no warning had been issued about the state of the water.

She worries that children and holidaymakers visiting with caravans are at risk.

“I just want rivers to go back to how they used to be. I've lived in Monmouthshire all my life and it's never been like this. We used to be able to swim and paddle - but we can't anymore. I'm now worried about kids and other dogs that still go in the rivers."

Catherine Fookes, the MP for Monmouthshire said: "The fact that Jane's dog became so incredibly ill is shocking. It's a damning reflection of the Conservatives' failure to protect and clean up our rivers. Fifteen years of underinvestment and inaction have led to this.

“I’m so relieved that Tess has fully recovered. I will continue to support Jane and keep pushing to deliver the changes we need in the water industry - so that people in Monmouthshire, and our beloved dogs, can once again swim in our rivers."

In another scandal, residents of Hastings were offered no compensation after a major pipe burst over the May 2024 bank holiday weekend, leaving almost 30,000 without water for up to five days.

It was only after local Labour MP Helena Dollimore quizzed Laurence Godsen, CEO of Southern Water, about the outage that the firm reversed the decision and paid residents £50 for every 12 hours they were without water.

Nikki, from St Leonards on sea, East Sussex, and her family were forced to move out of their home for over 6 months after sewage water flooded their home due to a failure in Southern Water's mains.

The incident caused huge disruption to her and her family, and the home had to be gutted and renovated before they could move back in.

Tom Hayes, the Labour MP for Bournemouth East said: “Water is our most important resource, yet there is unlikely to be any clean water left unless the water companies stop paying themselves huge bonuses and concentrate instead on actually investing to sort out sewage in the sea.”