Swimmers have fallen sick because they used a bacteria-infested swimming pool in Oxford - a scandal the city council tried to cover up.

There have been 27 reported cases of people suffering diarrhoea, fever, vomiting and abdominal pain caused by the water-based condition Cryptosporidium in Oxfordshire - more than double the normal number.

At least 15 of the victims live in the city and nine of those have swum in Temple Cowley pool, east Oxford, in the past few weeks.

The pool was shut down this week when the council said 'routine tests' discovered the water could contain bacteria.

But we can exclusively reveal that the pool is actually riddled with the highest levels of bacteria ever recorded there, and the cause is human faeces. And to make matters worse, filtering equipment that is normally used to remove Cryptosporidium has been broken for TWO MONTHS - even though the pool has remained open.

A council source said: "They did tests on the water routinely a month ago which showed abnormally high levels of bacteria caused by faecal matter, and they did not do anything about it.

"Apparently it was just within the 'tolerance range' and they left it. They did another routine test this month and it was sent away for analysis and it was the worst level of bacteria they have ever seen in the pool.

"They are thinking of emptying it, scrubbing it out and refilling it." The source added: "One of the filter systems broke down two months ago. It means that it cannot kill relevant bacteria and the part of the filter that broke down kills Cryptosporidium. "

Insiders suggest Oxford City Council's leisure and environmental committees are at loggerheads over the crisis. The leisure team wants the pool open as quickly as possible, while the environmental officers insist it stays closed until it can be declared totally safe.

On Thursday, the council closed the pool, claiming the water was being given a "super" dose of chlorine to kill off any germs. But as part of the testing procedure, officials put bacteria in a water sample - and found the disinfectant did not kill it. Council spokesman Gill Smith claimed the pool closure had nothing to do with the recent outbreak of diarrhoea cases.

Following inquiries by the Oxford Mail, an emergency meeting was held yesterday between council representatives and the health authority to prepare a statement.

The statement, which was released last night, read: "The pool is going to be closed for another seven days to ensure the water quality is safe for the public.

"The pool was closed as soon as the results of Tuesday's tests were known. The entire pool area will be cleaned and that includes water filters, pipework, all equipment, changing room areas, the poolside and toilets. "The earlier tests in September showed slightly above average levels of bacteria.

"They were considered within satisfactory levels by the Public Health Laboratory in Reading and were dealt with by normal water treatment processes.

"At the same time an investigation by Oxfordshire Health Authority showed a higher than normal number of cases of the micro-organism Cryptosporidium across the county."

Public health registrar Dr Susan Snape said: "Tests for Cryptosporidium are being carried out using samples from the pool and the results should be available next week."

Story date: Saturday 30 October

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