Dozens of guests at Ibiza hotel struck down by gastroenteritis amid fears dirty rainwater seeped into water tanks

One of my fondest childhood memories was the rain barrels my grandparents used to collect water.

I have no idea why, other than a foreshadowing of somewhat of a career in microbiology, but the memories remain vivid.

Now we live in Australia, which has 10 years of drought followed by a 1-in-500-year downpour, so we have these bloody big rain water collection tanks that look nothing like my grandparents.’

Around 50 guests at an Ibiza hotel popular with British holidaymakers have fallen ill with suspected gastroenteritis.

A pregnant woman needed hospital treatment and doctors were made available for 49 other guests following the outbreak at the four-star Hotel Algarb in Playa d’en Bossa,

A probe is now underway to establish the cause, although it has been initially linked to rainwater from midweek storms on the island filtering into hotel water tanks and ending up being used to make ice.

The mum-to-be who was hospitalised with “light gastroenteritis” has now been discharged.