What the peck? Feathers ruffled over state of Rasen river

This comes after town councillors in Rasen resolved that ‘something must be done’ about the thick bed of weeds that have covered the pond.

The pond was discussed at the town council’s October meeting where councillors were concerned about the ‘overgrown’ state of the pond and reported disruption in the flow of the water.

Coun Ken Bridger said: “The Mill Pond is all overgrown.

“There is more water being diverted round the back of the Mill Pond than there is coming through the main channels, so it has reduced the flow.

“The ducks have gone - and usually it’s the ducks that keep the weed down.

“Something must be done to clear it.”

Coun Stephen Bunney said: “The responsibility for the weed lies with the Environment Agency.

“They were clearing it out once or twice a year - which needs to be done.

“We also need to investigate the flow.”

Coun Thomas Smith suggested that the EA were unable to clear weeds ‘as they used to’ because of ‘reduced manpower’.

The general feeling amongst councillors was that action needed to be taken to clear the weeds.

It was agreed the Environment Agency would be contacted and they have since assessed the pond and begun to remove the weeds.

A spokesman said: “We carry out inspections and maintenance on rivers, removing anything that is blocking the flow of water and affecting flood risk.

“Our teams visited Market Rasen on Thursday (October 12) to inspect the river and are scheduled to start removing the weeds on Friday October 13.”