Painkillers 'polluting our rivers'

Medicines including over-the-counter painkillers and drugs used to treat cancer are polluting Britain's rivers, an Environment Agency report revealed today.

Experts believe pharmaceuticals are being used so much that they are making their way through sewerage systems and into the natural world, and fear a devastating effect on fish and other aquatic life.

The report said more research was needed and called on pharmaceutical giants to examine the environmental impact of drugs. Up to eight million people in Britain take painkillers every day.