RUBBISH that has been dumped in the lake of Promenade Park poses a “serious threat” to the park’s wildlife, residents claim.

Leoni Cullen, of Wantz Road, Maldon, makes regular trips to walk around the lake in Promenade Park, and has claimed not enough is being done about the level of waste making its way into the lake beyond the fences that border it.

Ms Cullen spotted a huge sheet of plastic, many cups and burger containers along with straws littering the water when visiting the lake on Sunday, which is also home to several swans, ducks and other wildlife.

Ms Cullen said: “I’ve been on and on at the council authorities who clean the park about the conditions of the lake for ages, yet no one seems to listen.

“The park rangers and staff who tidy up the Prom do a very good job after various events have taken place, plus general day to day cleaning makes it look very nice.

“But none of them seem to want to go through the fence in order to clean out the litter in the lake itself.

“It truly is a horrible site, and the volume seems to only increase.

“There are plastic sheets in there which could be mistaken for food by ducks and swans, the hamburger boxes look and smell dreadful.”

Promenade Park is managed by Maldon District Council, with wardens regularly cleaning the public green space.

Ms Cullen claims she has been expressing her concerns about litter in the lake for several months, yet has seen no change.

She added: “The lake is an ornamental feature of Promenade Park, we residents can’t access it for understandable reasons, it needs to be preserved so nature can flourish.

“This makes it all the more frustrating and saddening that the litter within the water is being completely ignored by the staff who clean it.

“There is filth everywhere in that water and it needs addressing.”

Richard Holmes, Director of Customers & Community at Maldon District Council, said: “The council’s Countryside and Coast Team work tirelessly throughout the year to maintain promenade park, and all our district parks, to a high standard.

"Visitors are always encouraged to ensure their litter is placed in bins provided and any litter left is dealt with as soon as possible by the Parks Team.

“This litter picking includes litter within safe reach of the edge of the Promenade Park lake and a full clearance of the lake is planned very soon.

"Owing to the profile of the lake, which becomes quite deep very quickly, we must take additional precautions compared to other more accessible areas of the park.”