A POND riddled with rubbish has got in a worse state as the council has not cleaned it, residents have said.

Back in 2014 Braintree Council agreed to address concerns raised about the condition of a pond in the Silver End Memorial Garden.

Paige Wicks, from Francis Way, said the pond is still being neglected.

She said: "The council was meant to sort it as they said we couldn't volunteer for health and safety reasons.

"It's just a dump down there now, there's rubbish in the water and it smells horrid.

"There are no ducks anymore because vandals smash the eggs up. The pond needs a little maintenance to keep it pretty and tidy.

"The council was supposed to get rid of everything in it, but they just took the rubbish that was floating on the top.

"There are still fish in there, well what's left of them anyway."

A spokesperson for Braintree Council said: “It is not uncommon at this time of the year with low rainfall and hot weather for the water in most ponds that are fairly shallow to smell, especially where there is no regular flow of water in or out.

"This causes Algae to form that together with plant vegetation that has decomposed, creating an unpleasant smell. We will arrange to remove the algae and other plant vegetation from the pond as part of our regular maintenance work.”