Senior officials have made a visit to the site of a Suffolk creek, a month after an expletive sign appeared there.

The sign caught the attention of many at Martlesham Creek having appeared after a failed bid for bathing water status and allegations of high levels of E. coli being found in five places. 

The sign said, in a tongue-in-cheek manner, that it is sponsored by Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey, who is the Environment Secretary.

East Anglian Daily Times: The expletive sign that appeared at Martlesham Creek.The expletive sign that appeared at Martlesham Creek. (Image: Ruth Leach)

Testing had been conducted at the creek by Eamonn O'Nolan, a representative of the Woodbridge Climate Action Centre and a former Woodbridge mayor, who found high levels of E.coli in five places.

On Friday, Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey went to the creek and was joined by senior members from Anglia Water and the Environment Agency and East Suffolk councillor Chris Blundell. 

The Suffolk Coastal MP said: "It was a good opportunity to see the situation first-hand. The Environment Agency explained that pollution will not only be coming from humans, but from agriculture and wildlife. Especially wild birds that feed from the mudflats.

"I will be following up with Suffolk County Council from a public health point of view, asking them to consider putting signage by the sluice.

"This isn’t, of course, a designated bathing water but I’m confident though that with the designation of the bathing water at Waldringfield, coupled with the government’s Plan for Water, that we will see more investment locally to improve water quality."

This week campaigners announced they will be making a second attempt to have a Suffolk river declared safe for swimmers.

Representatives of Save the Deben are set to make a second application for designated bathing water status for the river Deben at Woodbridge in October after the first attempt was rejected.