A POPULAR beach in Ibiza was closed to the public after high levels of human poo was found in the sea.
But eager Brits have been swimming in the filthy water despite the warnings.
The local council says swimmers have been dodging under the red tapes for several days, risking their health in view of a high level of e-coli found in the water.
At one stage, more than 40 people were swimming and others snorkelling in the water despite the warning signs.
Locals are blaming “the Brits” who, they say, can’t read the notices in Spanish – even if they do know what a red flag symbolises.
Families have also still been using the beach.
A video on Diario de Ibiza showed a notice that warned the beach was closed due to e. Coli contamination.
Behind it, people were seen swimming in what looked like pristine waters.
In an urgent bulletin, the local council of Sant Josep said: “Important point: As a result of an episode of biological contamination, we had to close the Calò d’en Serral beach. It will reopen as soon as the tests confirm that normality has been restored.”
The presence of human poo is being blamed on emissions from boats in the area.
Swimmers who chose to ignore the signs said the water looked fine to them because normally, if there was poo in the sea, it turned a sludge brown, gave off a foul smell and floating excrement could be seen.
Even so, environmental health chiefs say the red flags and tapes were put out for an important reason and people chose to ignore them at their peril.
Sant Josep de sa Talaia is known for its quiet coves and its beach is usually a peaceful scene.
Three red flags were put out on Wednesday, covering a stretch of around 120ft, and tests taken.
They were then sent away for analysis and were due to be returned today or Saturday. Depending on the outcome, the beach would then reopen.
A council spokesman said: “The last tests of the Ministry of Health of the Balearic Government detected the presence of a faecal bacterium, Escherichia coli (E. coli), above the authorised limits.”
The signs put up are in Spanish and Catalan.
The local council says there hasn’t been any pipe fractures from the local treatment plant and is convinced the e-coli comes from boats moored in the harbour.
One resident told Spanish newspaper Ultimahora.es: “Every day there are 130 ships, anchored all summer, and almost everyone must pull the chain daily.”
What is E.coli?
Escherichia coli is a type of bacteria common in human and animal intestines.
While most types of E.coli are harmless some can cause serious food poisoning and infection.
E.coli bacteria is a common cause of cystitis – an infection of the bladder.
Some types of E.coli can cause gastrointestinal infections.
As the bacteria can survive outside of the body, its levels serve as a measure of general hygiene and faecal contamination of an environment.
A common mode of infection is by eating food that is contaminated with the bacteria.
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