Poole Park boating lake is swamped by stinking green slime as nearby restaurant loses 65 per cent of trade

Poole Park's 50-acre boating lake in Dorset has been swamped by a toxic algae bloom so foul-smelling that visitors are avoiding the area and nearby businesses are taking a serious financial hit. Restaurant owner Nick Davies says turnover has fallen by 65 per cent, with customers refusing to sit outside next to the stench. The bloom was triggered by sluice channel reconstruction works on the lake combined with summer heat, and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has come under fire for its handling of the situation.

Bob Lister, a founder of the Friends of Poole Park, called the algae "a total disgrace — it stinks."

Swans are struggling to paddle through the slime, pedalos have been fenced off, and a model boat club has had to move to a nearby yacht club.

The Environment Agency warns that blue-green algae can produce toxins capable of killing animals and pets, and causing rashes and illness in people.