Water torture

As people fall ill amid bug crisis, queues form for emergency supplies and panic buying clears shelves, our disgraceful system starts to cause....

- ADAM ASPINALL

THOUSANDS of people have been told not to use tap water for at least a week without boiling it thanks to a parasitic outbreak.

South West Water told 16,000 householders on Wednesday to heat it before drinking it, brushing their teeth, or preparing food after cryptosporidium - a parasite that causes diarrhoea was found in its supply network.

MP Anthony Mangnall last night said the source of the outbreak was a damaged valve that may have allowed animal waste into the supply.

So far, 22 infections have been confirmed, with many more people reporting cryptosporidium symptoms. Professor Paul Hunter, from the University of East Anglia, said cases would continue to climb.