Final visit for inquiry team

Aluminium sulphate was poured into the wrong tank in 1988

A group of experts investigating the long-term health effects of the UK's worst water poisoning incident is making its final visit to Cornwall on Monday.

The inquiry will collect more evidence about the 1988 incident in which water supplies to 20,000 people in the Camelford area were affected.

Hundreds of people drank water contaminated with aluminium sulphate which had been dumped in the wrong tank at South West Water Authority's Lowermoor treatment works.

A report carried out by the Health Advisory Group concluded that there was no convincing evidence that ill health had been caused by the toxic effects of the contaminated water.

But two years ago, the government set up a new investigation into the long-term health effects.

The Department of Health's committee on toxicity will now start to finalise its report.