Mother-Of-One Whose Toddler Fell Ill Is Part Of The Group Demanding Answers

A group of disgruntled United Utilities customers who suffered ill health during the water contamination at Franklaw water treatment works, Lancashire, in 2015 are taking legal action against the company.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell have been instructed to act on behalf of the group, which includes a three-year old boy who fell ill as a toddler after drinking the contaminated tap water, during the cryptosporidium outbreak following the parasite being found at Franklaw water treatment works on 6th August 2015.

Cryptosporidium is a parasite which can cause cryptosporidiosis if ingested. It is a leading cause of human gastrointestinal infection in the UK, and is most common in children who are aged between one and five.

United Utilities have been prosecuted over the contamination by the Drinking Water Inspectorate, which claimed the outbreak had affected approximately 700,000 people in the area.

Amandeep Dhillon, a Partner and Public Health specialist at Irwin Mitchell who is representing the group and has vast experience of handling gastric illness outbreak cases in the UK such as acting for almost 300 people who were infected by the norovirus after visiting the Toby Carvery Exeter Arms in April 2015, said:

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“The discovery of a high level of bacteria in the water was extremely concerning.

“Drinking unsafe water can have a profound effect on a person’s health and can cause long-term issues, from which some victims may never fully recover. Protecting the general public from outbreaks like these should be the main priority for those involved.

“Cryptosporidium can have serious health implications for those affected and in our work we have seen first-hand the long-term issues that it can cause, from which some victims may sadly never fully recover.

“We are working with our clients to ensure they get the answers they deserve as to how the cryptosporidium parasite came to be present in the tap water.” Amandeep Dhillon - Partner

Milo Valente, three from Blackpool, fell ill in March 2015 after drinking the contaminated water as a toddler. He was diagnosed with cryptosporidium, but unaware of the contamination, Milo continued to be given tap water by his mother Carley, 33, and he suffered from diarrhoea and weight loss.

Carley, a teaching assistant, said: “It was heartbreaking to see Milo suffer like he did when he was a toddler due to his cryptosporidium diagnosis. Like all new mums, one of my biggest fears was Milo being upset and poorly, and when I had to endure this it was worse than I ever imagined.

“Like the many other people affected by the outbreak, we just want answers for how it was allowed to happen in the first place.”

Another member of the group, Anne Sheldon, 53, continues to suffer from malabsorption following the outbreak in 2015. Anne, a full-time carer to her daughter Emma, 36, who has severe learning disabilities, continues to suffer from diarrhoea, lethargy and weight loss.

Anne, from Oldham, said: “It is still such a shock that all this stemmed from drinking tap water. Water companies have a responsibility to ensure they provide clean and safe water for people to drink.

“There are questions that need answering before we can begin to put this ordeal behind us and move on.”