The discovery of human poo in a stream has sparked an investigation by Natural Resources Wales.
Broadcaster Will Millard posted footage on Twitter outlining his disgust after his family made the find.
The Hidden Wales presenter said he was “incandescent” after the faeces was spotted in the River Edw in Llanbadarn y Garreg, in Powys.
The 40-year-old said the grim find was made as his children played in the water.
He said: “My sister is here as well with her kids. All four of our kids were just in this bit of river here catching stone loach and enjoying the river when my brother-in-law just walked up into this pool and said ‘there is a load of human poo just off the bridge’.”
He said there were “sandy looking” patches on the river bed that were actually waste.
“There is absolutely loads of it,” Mr Millard said.
“All I can imagine is someone has come along here, probably with a chemical toilet or something, having camped somewhere around here and just chucked it off the bridge.
“It’s absolutely disgusting. It’s terrible for our kids, they have all had to go back and get washed up, but awful for the wildlife and the natural environment.”
Mr Millard called the behaviour “disgraceful”.
“It’s one of the worst things I think I have ever seen in a Welsh hill stream,” he said.
“It’s appalling.”
Natural Resources Wales confirmed the matter had been reported and was being investigated.
Jenny Phillips, of the south Powys environment team, said: “We had officers on site soon after it was reported and we carried out checks at the location in question as well as upstream and downstream.
“We believe that this is an isolated incident and the investigation is ongoing. Our officers did not see any evidence of fish or other wildlife in distress.”
Human waste, which contains high levels of organic matter, reduces oxygen in the water and can be lethal to aquatic life.
Ms Phillips said: “In high quantities, the ammonia it contains can have toxic impacts on fish and macroinvertebrates.
“The increased nutrients present can cause excessive algal and plant growth damaging the ecology and water quality.”
She urged people to dispose of waste responsibly.
Source – BBC News
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