Parents and dogwalkers have been warned after a suspected sewage spill was spotted at a Swindon nature reserve.
The summery heat and sunny skies make it an ideal time to go out for a stroll in one of the town's green spaces.
But one dogwalker who did just that had an unpleasant surprise during a visit to Stanton Country Park on Wednesday.
While following the path near the large fish pond, he spotted a pipe spilling foul-smelling water into a stream that trickles away from the pond and out towards the borough's border.
The member of the public, who did not wish to be named, told the Adver: "Anyone walking around Stanton Country Park is met with the stench of sewage around a sewer outflow right by the path.
"Our dog got covered, and I’m sure that, as the weather heats up, kids will go in as well.
"With all the recent national news about water companies illegally discharging effluent into rivers, would be good to show people in Swindon that it’s happening here too."
This comes after a BBC investigation found data that suggests Thames Water, Wessex Water, and Southern Water collectively released sewage in dry spills for 3,500 hours in 2022.
The practice is known as "dry spilling" and is banned because it can lead to higher concentrations of sewage in waterways.
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