Clean-river campaigner completes 10-day run

A clean-rivers campaigner has finished a 380 mile (611km) running challenge from the River Erme in Devon to central London to highlight concerns about pollution in his local waterway.

John Mildmay‑White, who reached Westminster Bridge on Sunday after covering the distance over 10 days, said "lead with the head, and everything else will follow".

The 40‑year‑old landowner was inspired to complete the challenge after the Erme Estuary's popular swimming beach at Mothecombe failed official bathing water tests.

The run has raised about £26,000 for the charity Wild About the Erme River, which is planning more water‑quality testing. Mildway-White said he hoped it would "pinpoint" where the issues were.

On his route, Mildway-White ran beside the Exe, the Avon and the Thames, meeting river groups and volunteers taking action against sewage spills and poor water standards.

"I know there's a lot of anger out there with people, quite rightly, about what's happening to these places, to our rivers," Mildmay-White said.

"But I wanted more of a message of positivity, of actually we can do things."

Over the course of the challenge, he faced intense leg pain that meant he could barely walk, and struggling to eat enough - "about 800g of sugar" per day - but he credited his friends and support crew for cheering him on and keeping him going.

Mildmay-White said the run brought moments he would not forget.

In Oxford, a local runner joined him for 40 miles (64km), even though he had never run that far before.

A 15‑year‑old also joined him for the length of an entire marathon.

"Every time you have those interactions, it suddenly just lifts you up," Mildmay-White said.

His strangest moment came near Staines when, lost in thoughts of his wife and children, he drifted off‑route and ended up stuck on the wrong side of the Thames. The diversion to get back was eight miles (13km).

As he stood staring at his map, a stranger popped his head over a fence and asked if he needed a lift across the river.

"I was like: 'Yeah, yeah, please," he said.

The stranger, a man called Shane, reappeared with a small inflatable dinghy and rowed Mildmay-White and his cousin across the swollen river.

"It was unbelievable," he said, "You could not make it up."

Mildmay-White reached central London the next day with about a dozen family members and friends joining him for the final stretch.

His children ran the last mile beside him as supporters gathered on Westminster Bridge.

"It just felt really special to be there, and I've done it with this amazing team that supported me," he said.

The UK government released a white paper in January called a new vision for water, which outlined plans including setting a new strategic direction, reforming regulation, creating a water ombudsman and improving the security of supply.

The government has been asked if it wanted to comment on river water quality.

The Environment Agency said it was working in partnership with the Wild About The Erme River (WATER) group to develop a catchment action plan for the River Erme and it would be focusing its efforts on Coastguard's Beach until it saw improvement.

A spokesperson said: "We have taken action to ensure South West Water upgrades their assets in the area and have been working with local farms to reduce agricultural runoff.

"Inspections will continue across the catchment, and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action where appropriate."

The government and Environment Agency have been asked if they want to comment on river water quality.

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