Woman almost died after swimming in sea with sewage

02 September 2023 , 10:29

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A 22-year-old woman was rushed to hospital just days after going for a swim off the Welsh coast (Image: Jayne Etherington)

A woman almost died after going for a swim in Pembrokeshire.

Caitlin Edwards, 22, decided to go for a dip just off the Welsh coast on a bank holiday weekend but it turned into an "absolutely horrendous" ordeal as she was left with a rare life-threatening condition.

The swimmer developed E. coli which led to haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a rare condition damaging her kidneys. The illness left her needing multiple blood transfusions and dialysis in a five-month long ordeal where Caitlin was fighting the dangerous condition.

Her mum, Jayne Etherington, was angry about how untreated sewage was allowed to enter the sea at Wiseman's Bridge, where the mum and daughter had gone for a swim, on August 24 last year.

Caitlin Edwards with her mum Jayne Etherington (Jayne Etherington)

She told WalesOnline: “We were allowed to believe it was a CSO spill. No-one said: 'This is something more serious.'”

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It was well-reported at the time that storm sewage had been discharged at four popular Welsh beaches, including Wiseman's Bridge and nearby Saundersfoot. Welsh Water combined storm overflows (CSOs) held responsible, but Caitlin claimed to be unaware of the sewage spill.

Just days after going for a dip, Caitlin started experiencing symptoms such as severe stomach cramps and diarrhoea. After five days she checked herself into A&E where she was diagnosed with E. coli and HUS.

Her worried mum said that the 22-year-old looked like "she was going to die". Jayne said: “By the time they phoned me she was in resus. She'd gone from a happy, healthy vibrant 22-year-old to looking like she was going to die. We didn’t know she wasn’t. It was horrendous."

Jayne said Public Health Wales (PHW) did a “full investigation” into everything Caitlin had eaten and concluded that the likeliest cause was untreated sewage – harmful bacteria from contaminated water had passed into her intestine - however, PHW said it was unable to comment on individual cases.

Nicola Mills, the environment team leader for NRW, said their investigation into the pollution incident at Wiseman's Bridge concluded “the effluent discharge was due to a private discharge point failure”.

Caitlin developed E.coli and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) after swimming in the sea (Jayne Etherington)

She added: “The owners of the private discharge point acted immediately to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Our officers have visited the area since and there have been no further concerns witnessed or reported. Around the same time there was also an ongoing CSO discharge therefore it was not possible to pinpoint sole responsibility for the failure of bathing water sampling at Wiseman’s Bridge."

Caitlin has since made a full recovery and was able to complete her English and Spanish degree despite doctors advising her she might want to defer her final year.

But despite the young woman being fine now, her mum still wants others to be aware. She said: "That’s what can happen and I’m determined that it doesn’t happen to anyone else."

Jayne is asking anyone else who may have felt ill after swimming near Wiseman's Bridge that weekend to get in touch. She said there were numerous anecdotal reports that other people had been sick around that time.

Gemma Jones