Mum's five-day hospital nightmare after taking a 'dip in the sea' with swimming group

An Scottish rushed to under strict instructions from her GP after enjoying a in the sea with friends.

Shelley Sim fell sick last year after joining the Salty Sea Sisters swimming group for a friend's birthday celebration. The next day, she woke up feeling fatigued and suffering from prompting her to visit her GP who advised immediate hospitalisation.

She spent five days in hospital battling severe gastroenteritis and dehydration. Subsequent tests over the following weeks led to a diagnosis of cryptosporidium, a diarrhoeal disease caused by swimming in contaminated water.

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This incident coincides with the release of a report from Surfers Against Sewage, which reveals that sewage was discharged into Scotland's rivers, lochs and seas 'every 90 seconds' last year. Ms Sim, a daily swimmer prior to her illness, admitted that she is now more "cautious" about entering the water, reports .

She explained: "The sea is where I go for my mental health, to get away from stress of being a carer. The first thing I do now is check outfalls. That's good, but it comes from a place of fear. I shouldn't be doing this. I should be checking the tide, not when was it heavy rain and if there were any spills. It impacted my son's mental health. He has OCD, ADHD and autism and I'm his carer. My illness caused a lot of anxieties and stress."

A report by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) revealed that Scottish Water recorded 23,498 sewage discharges lasting a total of 208,377 hours in 2024. However, this only represents 6.7 per cent of the company's entire network. SAS warned that due to "missing data", the actual figure could be as high as 364,629 discharges - averaging one discharge every 90 seconds.

The report also highlighted that the water company only included 1,116 of its 4,080 "combined sewage overflows" (CSOs) - locations where sewage is directly released into waterways or the sea - on its real-time sewage discharge map. This implies, according to the report, that Scottish Water is not reporting 73 per cent of its discharges in real time, leaving people uncertain about the safety of entering the water.

Giles Bristow, CEO of SAS, labelled the figures as "appalling", but cautioned they are "likely just the tip of the fatberg, due to Scottish Water's reckless approach to monitoring and public safety". He added: "Scotland's coastline, lochs and rivers are some of the most stunning on the planet, with surfers, swimmers and paddleboarders wanting to make the most of these beautiful blue spaces.

"But these waters are far from pristine. With no legal requirement to issue sewage alerts in , water users have no idea whether or not it's safe to enter the water. People are getting sick and yet Scottish Water are standing idly by, happy to sweep the scale of the sewage scandal in its waters under the carpet."

SAS's Bristow criticized the lack of action from Scottish Water, pointing out that while the organization offers sewage alerts through its Safer Seas and Rivers Service in England and Wales, Scottish residents are left in the dark due to "inaction", leaving Scotland's monitoring map "blank" this year.

He continued: "Scottish Water: You're polluting your incredible wild waters and leaving the public in the dark, and at risk. It's time to step up and provide real-time sewage alerts and dramatically improve your woefully inadequate monitoring."

Professor Simon Parsons, director of environment, planning and assurance for Scottish Water, countered: "The quality of Scotland's water environment remains high, with 87 per cent of water bodies classed as good or better.

"We continue to invest in infrastructure: £500 million in addition to the £2 billion spent in the last decade, which helps improve it further to meet national targets. Our waste water treatment systems handle more than one billion litres of waste water every day and are a vital part of the water cycle in Scotland.

"The route map we published in 2021 set out a crystal-clear commitment to invest further, monitor performance at more locations and strive to prevent pollution incidents before these happen. We are on track to deliver on those commitments.