By Dave Lord

A DISTRAUGHT Perth girl has accused the local council of neglect after she discovered dead ducks in a popular park.

Leah Alexander is incensed at the “appalling” state of the pond at the South Inch close to her King Street home.

The 12-year-old was horrified to find dead ducks apparently trapped in a mass of algae and various items of rubbish.

The upsetting discovery came as Leah walked with a friend.

“We were walking my dog at the South Inch and were disgusted to see the state of the pond,” the Perth High pupil said.

“We were even more appalled to see a duck helplessly trapped in algae and rubbish.

“Both of us were really upset so we started trying to find something to help us free the duck but there was nothing available.”

The pair watched in horror as the duck died—and became a target for “starving” birds.

Leah continued, “A few minutes later we saw other ducks feeding on it since they were being pushed to starvation.

“We tried to scare them away but by then it was to late.

“It was so upsetting watching the duck take its last breath and we said to each other, how can Perth and Kinross Council let the pond get to this state?”

Leah and her friend took action in a bid to afford the dead bird some dignity, but fear many other birds will suffer a similar fate.

“By now the dead bird was floating toward us with a crowd of other ducks around,” she said.

“We thought we would carefully pick it up and place it beside the pond so it could not be eaten.

“However, we did not want to do this without anything on our hands so we used some of my dog’s empty poo bags and, putting them over our hands, carefully picked up the duck and placed it down on the pond side.”

The pair phoned the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) but were told there was nothing that could be done.

The girls were told the charity does not send inspectors to dead animals.

Leah said, “After the phone call I walked round the pond looking at the algae and saw another duck, which had clearly been dead for a while.

“Only a furry body and a skull were visible and, seeing other ducks and ducklings around the algae, we do not think they will last much longer either.”

Leah said she met several people during the incident and all were “disgusted” by the state of the pond.

Her sister Rosa (10), also upset, has started a petition calling on the council to clean up the pond.

A council spokeswoman apologised to the public.

“There is currently a substantial growth of algae on the boating pond,” she said.

“Unfortunately the chemicals used in the past to treat algae are not now permitted.

“The council has been looking at a number of alternative options for cleaning the pond and preventing a recurrence of the algae growth.

“It will be cleaned this Thursday and longer-term measures put in place as quickly as possible thereafter.

“The council would like to apologise for the current condition of the pond and stress that it is taking the necessary steps to remove the algae.”

The spokeswoman added the problems are not unique to the South Inch.

“We understand that many ponds across the UK are being affected in a similar way by algae growth this year and that the speed of the growth may be weather-related,” she said.

“Officers went out to the pond on Tuesday last week and at that time no dead birds were found.

“While the algae is unsightly, it is not normally a problem for ducks.”

She asked the public to dispose of rubbish responsibly in parks.