THE Loughor estuary has been hit by an e.coli outbreak.

Carmarthenshire Council has written to gatherers to inform them it has issued a "notice of temporary closure" of the Penrhyn Gwyn cockle and mussel beds.

The harvesting of the shellfish is banned under the order, as eating the cockles or mussels could cause sickness and diarrhoea. In extreme cases, e.coli can lead to death in humans.

Mark Liley, the authority's senior commercial services officer, said in the letter to cocklers: "This action has been taken with a view of protecting public health because samples of shellfish taken this week by Carmarthenshire Council from the specified site revealed significant levels of e.coli."

It is the second time the bed has been hit by e.coli, which also forced its closure in November.

The move comes as concerns mount over the future of the shellfish industry in the area.

Cockle gatherers have seen their industry blighted in recent years by cockle deaths, as well as bed closures.

They blame poor water quality caused by untreated sewage, though the authorities have consistently disputed this, saying there is no evidence to support the claim. This week, Environment Minister Jane Davidson announced that she was putting in an extra £120,000 into an ongoing investigation into the cause of the deaths.

Retired cockle gatherer Tony Lewis, aged 71, has called for more to be done to warn the public.

He said: "People are still going out to pick cockles because they don't know about the scare. There should be signs up all along the shore, people need to be made aware."

Mr Lewis, who has two sons still involved in the industry said this was not the first time beds had been closed but the problem appears to be getting worse.

"It has started to come more regular. I don't know what the cause is, they say it is the sewage, and there is a lot of sewage in the estuary, but proving it is the problem. It could become a real concern in the future.

"My two sons work the cockles and livelihoods are being affected."

Re-sampling in the estuary will take place this week. Two negative samples taken seven days apart are required to reopen the beds.

Carmarthenshire's head of public protection Philip Davies told the Post: "This is an isolated temporary closure in just one of the cockle beds in the Burry Inlet associated with elevated bacteria levels in the shellfish flesh. Neighbouring cockle beds are unaffected."