WOODFORD GREEN: MP wades in with help for pond weed problem (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

WOODFORD GREEN: MP wades in with help for pond weed problem

3:54pm Monday 8th February 2010 in

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RAMPANT duckweed could become a thing of the past at a popular beauty spot after Iain Duncan Smith waded in to help solve the problem.

The Woodford Green MP joined a pair of environmental experts on a special visit to Warner's Pond, where they gave frustrated residents some useful tips on how to deal with the unsightly green plant.

Mr Duncan Smith was answering the calls of Woodford Green Amenity Group, whose members had asked for new ideas in helping keep the historic site clear of duckweed during the summer months.

The group had considered using a dinghy to float out into the water at the pond - in Woodford Green High Road - to try and remove some of the sludge themselves - but they scrapped the plan after considering the potential dangers involved.

The former Tory leader said he was only to happy to lend a helping hand last Thursday.

He said: "It is great to see residents coming together in this way and campaigning on environmental issues.

"The Woodford Green Amenity Group is a credit to the community and I was only too pleased to help them with the duckweed problem.

"I was able to bring with me a couple of experts to give some advice, Laurence Bard, a pond expert from Pond Life Aquatics, and Francis Castro, Conservation Officer at Redbridge Council, came down and offered some advice to the residents about how to deal with the problem.

"I hope that it all works out for them and that Warner’s Pond returns to its former beauty."