Council to seek advice over goose droppings

Canada geese are starting to stray further from the lake in the summer

A council will seek expert advice on how to deal with gardens and pavements "inundated" with goose droppings.

Residents complained that more geese from Maiden Erlegh Nature Reserve, in Berkshire, were wandering further from the lake.

They raised concerns that their droppings could pose a health risk to children playing outside.

Earley Town Council said cleaning the streets was the responsibility of Wokingham Borough Council, which has been approached for comment.

The town council said it could do little to control the geese because they were wild animals, and suggested residents put up temporary fences along their lawns while they seek expert advice.

Town councillors were told Canada geese may be searching for shorter grass to eat, as well as to avoid an aggressive new pair of wild swans who attack adult birds.

Residents said the droppings posed a health risk to children

Secretary of a local residents association Steve Feltham told councillors his members complained last summer that "front lawns and pavements were becoming inundated" with droppings.

"Many of our residents and visitors to the lake are pleased to see the geese touring the estate with their young, but this does become a nuisance as the season wears on and the amount of goose droppings increases substantially," he said.

Mr Feltham said there was "no appetite" among residents for a cull, and that a plan to prevent some eggs from hatching was rejected by the town council last year.

Councillors were told the geese may be wandering further from the lake in search of shorter grass to eat

Town clerk Jo Friend said cleaning up after the geese is "too big an ask for a town council".

"We don’t have a staff member who could go out regularly to clean pavements. We’d have to get permission from Wokingham Borough Council," she said, adding "they’re not our geese, it’s not our pavement".

She also said it was unlikely Wokingham Borough Council would put more resources towards the problem for financial reasons.