Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrat candidate for this week's Honiton and Tiverton parliamentary by-election, met volunteers from Chardstock Eco Group on Kitbridge Ford this week to learn more about their water quality testing.

The community group monitors the quality of the Kit Brook as part of Westcountry Rivers Trust's citizen science programme.  

Mr Foord was also joined from volunteers from Membury, who keep an eye on the Yarty. 

The enthusiastic river keepers showed the parliamentary candidate how they carry out monthly surveys to check the health of the river, explaining that their observations of wildlife and invasive species along the riverbank are just as important as the chemical tests for phosphates and nitrates that they also do.

Chardstock Eco Group member Mandy Titman explained that, just as a doctor would say it is important to know what's normal when it comes to your own body, it's also important to know what's normal and healthy for your local river.

|You can then identify any detrimental changes and work with others to make things better," she said.

"The Kit Brook got a score of B minus for 2021. Would your parents have been happy if you'd come home from school with B-?" 

After Mr Foord departed for his whirlwind round of visits this week, the volunteers grabbed the opportunity to pull some invasive Himalyan Balsam and compare notes on the wildlife spotted on their rivers surveys from dippers to kingfishers.

Mr Foord will face competition from Helen Hurford (Conservative), Liz Pole (Labour), Gill Westcott (Green Party), Frankie Rufolo (For Britain Movement), Ben Walker (UKIP), Jordan Donoghue-Morgan (Heritage Party), and Andy Foan (Reform UK) in the by-election on Thursday, June 23.