OVER 150 campaigners for cleaner water in the River Wye, including a ten-foot tall ‘Goddess’ of the river, joined a mass protest in central London call for strong action against water pollution.

The Goddess, evoked the spirit of the iconic river and the ecosystems at risk.

The colourful Wye contingent dressed in blue and with banners blazing, were united in their desire to see the river cleaned up so it once again becomes a place that children can play, and wildlife can thrive.

They teamed up with 130 other organisations along with celebrities including broadcasters Chris Packham, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Carol Vorderman, actors Johnny Flynn and Jim Murray, champion rower Imogen Grant and bestselling author Robert Macfarlane, as well as local MP Ellie Chowns.

Richard Tyler of the Save the Wye campaign said that while other waterways are plagued with sewage which water companies allow into waterways, “American-style intensive agriculture has proliferated along the Wye, poisoning it for profit.”

His colleague David Gillam added: “The government has the power to designate the Wye as a ‘Water Protection Zone’, enabling the coordinated control of pollution.”

The Wye campaigners travelled from Hereford, Hay-on-Wye and Lydney and were highlighting the huge amounts of chicken manure that are still spread on the land and so washes unchecked into the Wye, and its tributaries.