River Thames a ‘death trap’ as E-coli levels shown on live interview

A river pollution campaigner has described part of the River Thames as a "death trap" after E.coli was found in a sample of water he collected.

James Wallace of River Action UK said he found 2963 E.coli colonies per 100ml from water in the River Kennet, a tributary of the Thames.

It comes after Steve Backshall described pollution found in the water as "toxic" as a Bangor University study found high levels of norovirus and E. coli in a sample near the border between Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

"If I was to give this to Steve to say cheers, he might die... in [the sample] you can see a death trap,” Wallace said.

A Thames Water spokesperson told The Independent: “We regard all discharges as unacceptable and taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus."