Rat urine bug threat to canal revellers
Regent's Canal choked with bottles in the aftermath of Saturday's rave. Photograph: George Steptoe
Revellers who defied warnings and staged a chaotic rave on the canal this month were exposing themselves to the risk of catching a potentially deadly disease.
Carriers may be unaware they are infected with Weil’s Disease because symptoms can take as long as two weeks to manifest themselves.
A spokeswoman for the Canal and River Trust confirmed drunk partygoers who were seen falling into the Regent’s Canal during the controversial event on 1 June were placing themselves at risk of infection.
The disease, also known as Leptospirosis, can be contracted where open wounds are immersed in untreated water contaminated with rat urine.
Symptoms include hemorrhaging from the mouth, eyes and internally.
44 people in the UK were treated for Weil’s in 2011, and in 2010 an Olympic rower died following infection.
The loosely organised group responsible for Canalival, an ad hoc party advertised on social media, pulled the plug on the event just over a day before it was due to go ahead, but thousands of people turned up anyway to hoist anchor in rubber dinghies.
Graham Hindley, President of the Regent’s Wharf Residents’ Association, said: “People were jumping on and off boats and hauling themselves up the embankment. With water splashing around they could have exposed themselves to risk of infection.”
Residents complained of serious anti-social behaviour and said broken glass, urine and faeces were left by partygoers, whose presence is said to have caused damage to the nests of canal-based waterfowl.
No arrests were made, and police have not said whether any of the allegations of anti-social behaviour are being investigated.
Council staff cleared over five tonnes of rubbish from the towpath.
Mr Hindley added: “There was a lot of buck passing going on: the local authorities told me it was the police’s responsibility to move people on. But when I contacted the police, I was told to get in touch with the local authorities. No one took responsibility for it.”
Councillor Feryal Demirci said: “Luckily there were no serious accidents, but the noise and mess residents had to endure was not acceptable and the clean-up operation cost council tax payers a considerable amount of money.
“The council and police are in contact with the organisers and the Canal and River Trust to ensure this does not happen again.”
The Hackney Citizen has approached organisers of the cancelled Canalival event for comment but they said they could not speak to the press.
One part of me says I really, really do hope that lots of them contract it…the other part of me says I hope they don’t as don’t want them costing the NHS any money. These are the same people who will cost us a fortune due to their crappy approach to lifestyles of excessive drinking, smoking and social drug taking…(I love being a grumpy old fart!)
Pure cowardice that the organisers won’t speak to the media. It shows further that they are accountable to no-one but themselves, and are unable to engage in any positive conversation and dialogue about the event and lessons that must be learnt from the experience this year. If there is another canal event next year, one thing is certain: Canalival do not have the skills, experience and organisational ability to lead and manage it. I do hope they realise this.
The organisers sought the correct route, via raising money to help support the costs of a safe and responsible event, with crowdfunding helping to donate enough money for police presence and clearing up after the event. Unfortunately the local council and waterways pulled out the day before – the organisers did the best they could to discourage people not to turn up, but if you’ve spent money on a boat, why wouldn’t you turn up? How are they meant to take responsibility for something when they weren’t allowed to run it and discouraged people from turning up? Let them run it, with the police presence and council’s backing, and then moan about how they didn’t do a good job – at least give them a chance to show you their skills, experience and organisational ability before you completely write them off. Many people did take their own rubbish home, however there will always be irresponsible people out there – they are those that leave metros on the tube everyday, or drop their gum in the street. Don’t generalise everyone that took part as people with crappy approaches to excessive drinking, smoking and social drug-taking, if you weren’t even there to see the families and wide range of people enjoying the day too.
Why don’t they show some care and use some unrine odour removal product like UrineFree (www.urinefree.com)?
Not that support excessive drinking, smoking or social drug taking, but it pays to be careful!