A TERRIBLE stench has been coming from Canvey Lake because overgrown reeds blocked up a drain.

Angler Norman Gubb, 77, of Grafton Road, Canvey, noticed the smell and spotted dead carp floating in black-looking water.

He feared the worst following a pollution scare at the lake in 2007 that left hundreds of fish dead.

He said: “The lake is absolutely polluted, it’s terrible. The water was as black as night, and the smell is foul.

“It made me feel sick.

“I didn’t know where it was coming from, but there are a lot of kids playing around there, and it can’t be good for them.

”It’s revolting. You would have to pay me to fish there.”

Canvey Town Council recently took on management of the lake from Castle Point Council and plans to clean it up.

Town clerk John Burridge went to investigate and found the channels at the Denham Road end of the lake – which form part of the Environment Agency’s drainage system – were blocked.

He said: “There is a drain which discharges waste water from nearby houses into the narrow spur that runs down to the pumping station, and reeds have choked the end of the drain up.

“It’s a case of dirty dish water, not sewage.

“The channels are the Environment Agency’s responsibility, and we have informed them of the problem.”

Mr Gubb first noticed the smell on Tuesday. He said: “It has gone down a bit with the rain, but it is still there.

“Canvey Lake could be a jewel in the island’s crown. I hope they all hurry up and sort it out.”

The Environment Agency had not responded to the Echo by the time it went to press.