Sick walkers rescued after drinking river water on West Highland Way

Sick walkers rescued after drinking river water on West Highland Way2 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLinda SinclairBBC ScotlandLOMOND MRTMountain rescuers had to assist on two separate occasions within a weekA mountain rescue team is warning about the risks of drinking water from burns after two walkers on the West Highland Way became so ill they vomited through the night.Lomond Mountain Rescue say they were called out by Police Scotland to two separate incidents in the space of a week on the popular long-distance walk.One of them, a German man, was taken to hospital last week and on Tuesday the team was called out to help an American walker. Both are believed to have drunk water from a burn near Conic Hill and became ill despite using portable water filters. Visitors are being advised to drink only bottled water or from safe sources such as Scottish Water drinking fountains. LOMOND MRTLomond MRT are advising people to drink water from known sources including bottled water and Scottish Water fountainsThe first incident happened on Wednesday last week when the team evacuated a German man who was described as "incapacitated" near the remote Rowchoish Bothy. He had been vomiting since the previous evening and was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.Then on Tuesday this week, volunteers from Lomond MRT were called out again, this time to an American man north of Rowardennan, by Loch Lomond, who had also spent the evening being sick and was unable to walk.The team leader of Lomond Mountain Rescue, David Dodson, said both men had drunk from a stream around Conic Hill, most probably Burn of Mar, and became ill despite using straw-type filter systems - lightweight devices walkers use that remove contaminants as they drink. "That area - where the West Highland Way passes through - is agricultural land where livestock can be found," he said."With so many walkers now tackling the long-distance footpath, there is an increasing...