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Although contamination of the marine ecosystems by plastics is becoming recognised as a serious pollution problem, there are few studies that demonstrate the contribution made by freshwater catchments. Over a three month period from September to December 2012, at seven localities in the upper Thames estuary, 8490 submerged plastic items were intercepted in eel fyke nets anchored to the river bed. Whilst there were significant differences in the numbers of items at these locations, the majority were some type of plastic. Additionally in excess of 20% of the litter items were components of sanitary products. The most contaminated sites were in the vicinity of sewage treatment works. While floating litter is visible, this study also demonstrates that a large unseen volume of submerged plastic is flowing into the marine environment. It is therefore important that this sub-surface component is considered when assessing plastic pollution input into the sea., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In Exeter, the need for space to treat casualties in World War II led to a significant reduction in capacity at one psychiatric hospital and the closure of another. In spite of this, inpatient stays were longer than in peacetime, partly due to relatives who had to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of having their unwell kin returned to them. In the latter years of the war, admissions from the Devon catchment area were higher than in peacetime. Having more patients who stayed longer was largely compensated for by utilizing free space as opposed to reducing admissions, leading to overcrowding and a restricted inpatient regime.