Extinction Rebellion Harrogate members pretended to fish poo out of the River Nidd this weekend to highlight concerns about water quality.

Activists dangled rods over High Bridge on the A59 in Knaresborough to draw attention to high levels of pollution.

They also handed out information and talked to passers-by at the end of a week in which the state of the Nidd came under intense focus.

Rivers minister Robbie Moore was at the lido leisure park in Knaresborough on Monday last week to announce the Nidd had been designated bathing water status following a campaign led by Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

It means the Environment Agency will be obliged to test the water quality regularly and, if it is poor, take measures to improve it.

But in the days since the announcement, King James’s School in Knaresborough has urged pupils not to enter the river and a father has called for better warning signs amid reports of bathers falling ill.

Anna Bryer, who co-ordinates Extinction Rebellion Harrogate, said bathing water status had given a misleading impression that the water was suitable for bathing and there should be greater awareness of the risks, and avtion taken to reduce them.

Ms Bryer said there were multiple reasons for declining water quality, including poor investment in sewage infrastructure and the loss of European environmental protections since Brexit.

She also called for water companies to be taken out of private ownership and questioned why Yorkshire Water chief executive Nicola Shaw is paid £574,000 and entitled to bonuses, which she chose too forgo last year, believed to be in the region of £600,000 to £800,000.

Ms Bryer said most of the 12 sewage treatment works along the Nidd were built decades ago and were no longer fit for purpose.

Extinction Rebellion Harrogate is part of a global movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience to push for action on the climate emergency.

Ms Bryer said the movement decided to move away from disruptive action six months ago, adding:

The Harrogate group meets monthly and, besides water quality, has been supporting the Save Rotary Wood campaign in Harrogate.

Ms Bryer said some members planned to attend the Restore Nature Now demonstration in London on June 22 and were planning other activities around Harrogate.

Read more:

• What is bathing water status — and will it lead to a cleaner River Nidd?


• Knaresborough school urges pupils not to swim in River Nidd