A number of Garda divers picked up illnesses as a result of trawling one of Ireland's most polluted rivers for a missing man.
The divers spent five days combing the Avoca river at Arklow, Co Wicklow, for a 28-year- old Latvian man who went missing after a late-night swim in the river last month.
The Garda search team found themselves diving into 2½ft of raw sewage as they combed the river bed for the man, who is presumed to have drowned.
This week local councillor Peter Dempsey, who has been spearheading the campaign to clear up the river, revealed that a number of the Garda divers had become sick from the search.
At the time the divers described the river as the worst they had ever encountered.
"It was absolutely disgusting; we were diving into 2½ft of raw sewage," one commented.
Local diver Ian Kearon said he had stopped diving in the river "because of ongoing illnesses and because my health was at risk.
"I heard of some people becoming sick just by handling ropes that had touched the water."