Footage shows hundreds of families swimming in a sewage-infested river despite warnings that it is polluted with human FAECES.

Thousands of volunteers and environmental workers descended on Manila Bay in the Philippines last month in a desperate effort to rid the area of garbage.


But despite picking up the rubbish, disturbing levels of faecal coliform remained in the bay - with environmentalists measuring almost 100 million MPN (most probable number) per 100 millilitres of water. The safe level is 100 MPN per 100 millilitres of water.


The Department of Health warned in a statement on Monday, February 4, not to swim in the water. But the next day on Chinese New Year the area was packed - with children splashing the sewage infested harbour, where the Pasig River meets the ocean.


They said: ''The public is strongly advised to wait until the waters are deemed safe for recreational swimming.''


Officials said they were carrying out more tests on the water to establish the exact nature of the pollutants. High levels of coliform in rivers is usually linked to fecal matter.


In Manila Bay, the human sewage is believed to have been pumped into the water from sewage systems, drains and canals from the hundreds and thousands of surrounding homes.


The DOH warned the public that swimming in water with high levels of coliform can lead to waterborne gastrointestinal diseases.


These include diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery, skin diseases, and eye infections, which may be contracted when swimming in polluted waters.