DISGUSTED residents have taken to wearing face masks outdoors to combat an unpleasant smell coming from a nearby lake.

Households near Smallgains Lake, off Smallgains Avenue, Canvey, have complained about a horrible stench coming from the water.

In June, the Echo reported that more than 100 fish had been found dead at the lake.

Joan Billings, 74, who lives near Canvey Heights, said it has been horrible.

“All of last week there was a disgusting smell coming from the lake,” she said.

“My husband, Ray, 72, cuts the grass at Kings Park and he had to go to work wearing a face mask because the smell was so bad.

“I said to him it was like living in China.”

Other people by the lake have also complained about the foul smell, which was prevalent all of last week.

Mrs Billings added: “The smell was so bad we couldn’t open the doors or the windows all week.

“I like to sleep with the window open to get some fresh air, but the air coming in definitely wasn’t fresh. I couldn’t go outside to do any gardening or anything.

“I just nipped to the shops quickly by car.

“The smell was disgusting.”

She said they had lived there for 11 years, but had only once smelt the lake, but this was sorted out quickly.

Mrs Billings added: “I hope they do something.

“I have written to the MP Rebecca Harris and councillor Ray Howard who have both got back to me.

“The fish that have died are all big – about a foot long.

“It is a shame.”

She added that the smell had been worse last week, but was now slightly better.

The lake contains blue-green algae, which starves the water of oxygen, causing fish to die of suffocation.

It is also poisonous to humans and animals, such as dogs.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “If the smell is of a sulphurous nature -like rotten eggs, this is likely to be due to the algae dying off during the hot weather, and quite a natural event.

“If the odour is a different smell it would need to be investigated by the lake owner, in this case Castle Point Council.”

A spokesman from the council said: “We have been visiting the site daily and removing the dead fish that we can safely reach. There are now only a handful of dead fish on the surface and the smell has virtually gone.”