Helen Skelton says dirty rivers are a 'national scandal'

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The Summer on the Farm presenter recoiled as she talked about how dirty rivers can be. She warned Channel 5 viewers to “check” the water because it could contain “raw sewage and dead fish” before commenting: “It’s a national scandal!” She spoke to one of the people behind a movement to clean national rivers to get more information on the issue.

Summer on the Farm continued on Channel 5 on Thursday and saw Helen, 38, and co-host Martin Hughes-Game bringing more updates from Cannon Hall Farm in South Yorkshire.

At one point in the show, Helen highlighted the condition of some national rivers.

She delivered a warning to viewers about the dangers associated with wild swimming.

She warned: “We need to think carefully,” as she went on to delve into the state of rivers.

“Now listen, like lots of people in this country, I love to swim in rivers,” Helen remarked.

“I love a bit of wild swimming, but we really need to think carefully about what we’re jumping into here in the UK.

“Because Britain’s rivers are, I’m afraid to say, absolutely filthy.

“Clogged up with rubbish, raw sewage, dead fish – it’s a national scandal!”

The presenter added: “Luckily, we have somebody here who is going to tell us a bit more about what we can do about it.

“From the Ilkley Clean River Group, Karen Shackleton, thank you for joining us, Karen.

“We’ve also got Rob and Dave [Nicholson]. I know you like a bit of wild swimming.”

Turning back to the campaigner, Helen added: “But seriously Karen, this is an issue.

“How bad is the problem? How dirty are Britain’s rivers?”

Karen replied: “Pretty much whenever it rains, raw sewage goes into our rivers.”

She went on to explain the consequences of this and why people should avoid jumping into a contaminated river.

Karen also discussed the work being done by groups such as the Ilkley Clean River Group across the UK to try to ensure Britain’s rivers are cleaner.

Thursday’s show was the penultimate episode of the series, which has seen Helen and Martin bringing all the latest live updates from the farm, run by brothers Rob and Dave.

Elsewhere in the episode, doctor Amir Khan visited a butterfly farm to learn more about the pretty summertime insects.

JB Gill headed to north London to visit an urban cheesemaker.

Summer on the Farm continues on Friday at 8pm on Channel 5.

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