Did YOU attend the festival and fall ill?. South West Water contamination LIVE: Latest updates on the crisisRevellers who travelled to Devon for a pirate festival could get sick from drinking dirty water after it emerged locals have been suffering from stomach bugs.
People who attended Brixham Pirate Festival, which happened ten days ago, may start to suffer the effects from the water they drank while visiting. Brixham Pirate Festival happened earlier this month, with some locals saying they fell ill earlier than that Meanwhile, a school has been forced to shut and people are panic buying water from supermarkets after hundreds of people were struck down by an illness called cryptosporidium.
Locals who believe they have been struck down by the parasite, which can be eradicated by boiling water, have told of severe stomach cramps, dehydration, high fevers and 'explosive diarrhoea' that have crippled them and their families. Eden Park Primary School in Brixham announced yesterday evening that it would not be opening to pupils today following the outbreak.
'All Year 6 children should attend the school as usual, to complete their final SATs paper in the morning. They should bring their own full water bottle and be collected at 11:15am. The school will also provide bottled water for children and staff in school tomorrow. No other children should attend the school.
'There are a lot of people who are disabled, vulnerable, elderly - they can't get to these places, so I thought I'd do my bit,' she said. He said: 'This was reported as an outbreak on Tuesday morning and by Wednesday we had a credible source that it was likely to be a reservoir serving the TQ5 postcode such as Brixham and neighbouring areas.
'We are very optimistic . Some of the key measures such as identifying the primary source - that is in hand.' Brixham resident Meg Dew said: 'My 62-year-old mum called me about half an hour ago, she has a bad stomach and diarrhoea. 'We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will continue to keep customers and businesses updated. Bottled water stations will be set up in the affected areas as soon as possible.'Commonly known as 'crypto', cryptosporidium can infect the digestive system of animals and people.