Thames Water urged to ‘get a grip’ on testing water supply after illness outbreak

Thames initially said after one test at a property came back clear it did not need to conduct further tests. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

Steve Reed, Labour’s shadow environment secretary, has urged Thames Water to “get a grip” and test treatment works “urgently” after it emerged over the weekend that the company had tested the water at only one property.

Over the last two weeks, dozens of people in Beckenham, south-east London, have reported becoming unwell with diarrhoea and vomiting. The symptoms in most cases have lasted for an unusually long time – up to two weeks. They have also been severe, with multiple people hospitalised, including an eight-year-old boy.