A historic site in Oxford has become the first part of the River Thames where the government will issue alerts on whether the water is fit to swim in.
Wolvercote Mill Stream at Port Meadow, gifted to the freemen of Oxford by Alfred the Great 1,000 years ago, will be added to the list of bathing waters in England from next month.
It is only the second stretch of river in England to receive bathing water status, which will force the Environment Agency to test for two types of potentially harmful bacteria between May 15 and September 30 each year.
If the water quality is found to be “poor”, the public will be advised not to swim and information on the pollution sources and what
