E.coli outbreak hits MP's estate

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An E.coli outbreak has left 120 homes without drinking water on an estate owned by a Conservative MP.

At least 10 people are reported to be unwell after drinking tap water which comes from boreholes on the Englefield Estate, close to Reading in Berkshire.

As a precaution, Englefield Primary School, on MP Richard Benyon's agricultural estate, has been closed.

West Berkshire Council said the strain of the bug and the cause of the outbreak was unknown.

Water supplies at the estate are checked annually by the council

Mr Benyon said: "Every householder has been informed.

"The school under the advice of the West Berkshire environmental health department has been closed and we want to get that back as soon as possible.

"So everyone who needs to be informed has been informed."

Keith Ulyatt, of West Berkshire Council, told BBC News that residents of the estate had contacted environmental health officers after feeling unwell.

The council, which checks the estate-owned water supply annually, then took samples of the water.

Mr Ulyatt said: "Samples showed there was E.coli in the water - we will sample on a regular basis to monitor if and when it improves."

A mobile water tank has been taken to the estate and bottled water is being handed out by the estate's management.