A dog owner has warned of the dangers the River Ver in St Albans poses to animals after her pet had to be castrated after contracting E.coli.

Dani Varndall took her Daschund Barney for a walk through Frogmore Fishery and last month and found that the Ver had flooded, even spilling into a car park.

She said: "In the next few days I noticed that he was a bit lethargic and that he had gone off his food. Then he started urinating chunks of blood.

"The vets determined that the cause of it was E.coli, which confused me until I read about the E.coli that has been found in the Ver."

While Dani hoped a course of anti-biotics would ease the suffering, Barney suffered an enlarged prostate - leaving castration as the only solution.

This came as a blow to the 35-year-old, who explains: "It's common for Dachshund's who have been castrated to have spinal issues, so I made a conscious choice to keep his testicles."

She now calls Barney her 'ball-less wonder', but is concerned about the effect castration may have on her beloved dog's personality.

Barney underwent the surgery last week, with no change to his condition just yet.

Since March more than 2,400 hours worth of raw sewage has been pumped into the Ver - something Thames Water admit is "unacceptable".

Sewage continues to be pumped into the River VerSewage continues to be pumped into the River Ver (Image: The Ver Valley Society)

Read more:

• High levels of E.Coli detected in St Albans' River Ver

• Steve Coogan visits St Albans and takes trip to River Ver

• St Albans campaigners take part in 'Restore Nature Now' march

With many of St Albans rivers intersecting, Dani believes that none of the city's water is safe.

She says that when she walks dogs she has to carry them over the water from the flooded Ver and has to bring water with her on hot days as she can't trust the natural water sources.

She described the rivers as 'disgusting' and called for action to be taken against the water companies for allowing sewage to be dumped into the river.

The Environment Agency is currently undergoing an investigation, while Thames Water is yet to implement its Groundwater Impacted System Management Plan, with work delayed until 2025.