Human mess and urine found along Herefordshire's river Wye

A FISHERMAN and business owner who has lived in Herefordshire for nearly 40 years has said he is concerned about the amount of human faeces, urine, and litter he has found along the river Wye.

Adam Fisher, of Ross-on-Wye, owns a fishing business called Angling Dreams, where people can pay to fish on his private land in the Wye Valley area of outstanding beauty in Herefordshire, a site of special scientific interest, next to Kerne Bridge, near Symonds Yat.

But he has grown concerned over the volume of canoes making their way down the river Wye each year, which he says has led to his mile-long stretch of the bank becoming more and more polluted.

Adam Fisher and his wife Hannah have found human faeces and urine along their private stretch of land by the river Wye

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Last year he and his wife Hannah found considerable amounts of human faeces and urine on their land

They have now resorted to putting up signs saying ‘Wild conservation area’ instead of ‘Private land’ as these had previously been ignored.

The new signs also say ‘Strictly no canoe or paddleboard landing or launching, picnicking, wild swimming, toilet use, littering, barbecuing, wild camping, shouting or screaming’.

Mr Fisher has replaced Private Land signs with others reading Wildlife Conservation Area to deter people

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This is in the hope this will deter people from doing such things which are destroying the area, said Mr Fisher.

“Last year was particularly bad,” he said.

Another concern is for people’s safety while they are in the river.

Last summer he found a couple who had capsized in their canoe and were shouting for help.

Mr Fisher wants to work with the Environment Agency and canoe companies to regulate the volume of canoeists on the river at a time

He had to call a local canoe company to save them.

“We do not have any rangers patrolling along the river like other parts of the world, this area has rapids and can be dangerous,” he said.

But his concerns for the area and people’s safety do not stop there.

At the top of Kerne Bridge people have been seen to park up in camper vans and cars along the road, instead of in the car park where it costs £6.

Certain areas are in worse states than others

Mr Fishers said this is a busy 60mph road with lorries and tractors using it, and the number of vehicles parked on the verge could soon cause an accident.

“We have got to talk about whether it is sustainable or unsustainable tourism,” he said.

“There needs to be a code of conduct given to canoeists and for the volume of people on the river at a time to be better regulated.”

People who own canoe businesses do not have to own a special licence. Anyone who can buy several canoes and rent them out can do so, as there is a free right of passage for the river – this has been the law of the land since the 1200s and was changed in 2003.

“People can be on the river for up to eight hours a day,” he said.

“When you’ve got to go you’ve got to go, but it is the amount of people that is the problem and how it is unregulated.”

He is debating putting up portable toilets next to the bridge on his land so people will use those instead, but this would also mean it would be at a cost to him and would have to pay someone to monitor them.

He hopes the Environment Agency will coordinate and control the level of tourism, and work with canoe companies and communities so individuals aren’t left to manage the burden.

He also hopes there is an option for toilet facilities to be put in place along the river.

Previous private land signs and fences were destroyed by canoeists, said Mr Fisher

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “People enjoying nature and being outdoors is great to see. With finer weather approaching, more and more people will spend time enjoying the simple pleasures and benefits of being outdoors.

“Everyone has a duty to follow the countryside code and use rivers respectfully and in a way that is sensitive to the environment. For canoeists on the River Wye and Lugg we particularly urge users to follow the guidelines in the river Wye code of conduct, which has been developed in conjunction with key partners.

“We want to assure all users the Environment Agency is continuing to work closely with partners to promote consistent best practice to safeguard the environment.”

Many others have also come forward in recent years concerned over the state of the river Wye.

The river Wye will be in irreversibly worse condition within two years unless swift action is taken, politicians and regulators have been warned.

This was Wye and Usk Foundation chief executive Simon Evans’ message to a meeting last month of the Wye Nutrient Management Board (NMB), which brings together politicians, regulators, farmers, and businesses to address the river’s worsening pollution problem.

“We are on the edge of a precipice,” he said afterwards. “We’ll see the Wye going green each year, people won’t be able to swim in it, dogs will be poisoned.”

Local environmentalists also found sanitary products, wipes and other debris flowing into Widemarsh brook in Hereford, which flows into the river Wye.

Canoe companies in Herefordshire have been contacted and their response to this issue will be shared in a follow-up article.