Foul play has not been ruled out in the investigation into the cryptosporidium contamination at Pitsford Water Treatment Works last month which left more than 250,000 people in Northants unable to drink tap water for ten days and made 13 people ill.
A rabbit found in a tank was this week confirmed as the source for the parasite which caused the contamination.

But Andrew McIntosh, a spokesman for Anglian Water, admitted to the Mail on Tuesday that they knew where the rabbit had entered the tank but could not rule out whether it had entered of its own free will or if it had been placed there.

They also did not know whether the rabbit was alive or dead before entering the tank.

‘Malicious’ circumstances have not been ruled out, he said, meaning someone could have theoretically put the rabbit in there.

He refused to say where it entered the tank for ‘security reasons’ but said the tanks are made so that even a fly cannot make its way in.

The matter has now been passed to the Drinking Water Inspectorate which will pick up the investigation.

The DWI, a Government body which regulates public water supplies in England and Wales, will be looking at whether to prosecute Anglian Water for ‘supplying water unfit for human consumption’ or ‘failure to adequately treat water’.

If it decides against charges, it could still publish a legally-binding report making recommendations.

Sue Pennison, a principal inspector for the DWI, told the Mail it was not ruling anything out at this stage but that malicious circumstances ‘would not be the first line of inquiry’.

The cryptosporidium contamination was the first found at Pitsford since it was built 50 years ago.

There have been 13 confirmed cases of cryptosporidium of the type found in the water but a further 13 cases are being looked at by the Health Protection Agency.

Discovery of the bug on June 25 led to a ‘boil notice’ with people from Northampton to Brixworth told to boil tap water until the all-clear was issued on July 4.