Seafront lagoon branded a 'stinking pool'

Philip Miller, owner of Adventure Island which neighbours the lagoon, says it "stinks to high heaven"

A £1.9m lagoon on Southend seafront has been branded a “stinking pool of green slime".

Philip Miller, owner of the neighbouring Adventure Island, posted footage on social media of the Three Shells Beach Lagoon, calling it a "total disgrace".

He claimed it was “full of rubbish, seaweed and stinks to high heaven”.

Southend-on-Sea City Council said it had worked to combat the issue.

The artificially created shallow pool was touted to become a major seafront attraction when it opened in 2016, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The project was funded by the Coastal Communities Fund, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council (as it was then known) and the Stockvale group, which owns Adventure Island.

The water and the rocks regularly become covered in algae, causing concerns that children could slip on the rocks.

The council said the lagoon was largely self-cleaning because of the tides but a build-up of decaying seaweed on rocks could cause smells and micro-algae.

Matt Dent, cabinet member for culture, tourism and business, said the council was aware of the issues and a plan had been agreed earlier this month with representatives of Stockvale for a "more intensified programme of draining and refilling" it to combat the smell.

He said it will be drained again at the end of the summer and urged people to supervise children and not to climb on rocks at the lagoon.