Canoeist Mike Mitchell on Wye poillution

Transcript

00:00Hi there, I'm Gavin McEwan, local democracy reporter for Herefordshire.

00:04I'm here on the River Wye at Simmons Yat.

00:07I'm going to speak to Mike Mitchell, who's a local canoeing instructor.

00:12So, first of all, Mike Mitchell, you've spotted some of the evidence here of the recent oil spill up in Hereford.

00:20We're quite away from Hereford here though, aren't we?

00:22Yeah, I think we're probably about 27 miles by the river.

00:25And it takes probably 18 hours, two days to get down to here.

00:30So, I spotted the oil spill on social media back last Friday, I believe it was,

00:37knowing that it would take probably two days to get here.

00:40We were paddling on a Saturday afternoon and you could feel an oily, slimy sensation to the hands

00:49where you're picking it up between the paddle blade and the hands

00:53and you could feel a burn into the lips.

00:55So, the day after we didn't paddle and I came back two days ago and just tested the water

01:01and it just felt really oily and slimy.

01:04I see. But you think the problem has passed now?

01:09Well, the problem's not passed. It's probably dissipated into the river quite a bit.

01:14It's ended up on the banks. It's working its way down the river slowly.

01:19But the river seems to be no worse than what we normally paddle it at.

01:24Obviously, we've got all sorts coming down the river all the time with local pollution nowadays.

01:29I see. So, you've been on this river long enough to have seen quite a few changes and not for the better.

01:35Is that right?

01:36I started paddling when I was 13. I started paddling here when I was 13.

01:40So, I've seen, at 67 now, I've seen years and years and years of it.

01:45The river's completely changed. The wildlife's all disappeared.

01:48The swans don't even breed here anymore and I've seen otters here.

01:52Even the mink have disappeared. Everything's gone. There's just a few ducks left.

01:57I see. But you're persevering with teaching your young...

02:01Well, these athletes here, I've got the top four J-14s in the whole UK

02:07and the second J-14 girl as well, so top four boys in C1 and K1.

02:14C1 is a single blade, K1 a double blade. I know they're the best in the UK.

02:19I've got a girl who's in a J-18 GB team and they train every day.

02:26So, twice a day at weekend, they're probably doing eight to ten sessions on the water every week.

02:33Not here. We go to different sites across the country.

02:36But, yeah, this is their training. This is their home for training.

02:39So, they're out nearly every day.

02:40Yes. So, it's an important spot from their point of view, from a sporting point of view,

02:44as well as the wildlife and environmental side.

02:46Exactly, yeah. I mean, yeah, if they can't paddle,

02:49then they've got selection at the end of March, GB selection,

02:53and now they need to be put the time in.