Beckenham Place Park has been closed until the weekend after visitors to the new swimming lake "exceeded" expectations in the heatwave.

Lewisham Council hopes to be able to reopen the park "as soon as possible" while a temporary fence is installed around the lake.

A Council spokesman said: “The public response to the redevelopment of Beckenham Place Park has been fantastic.

"The number of visitors enjoying the new facilities has far exceeded our most ambitious forecasts.

"However, as with any open water facility we need to ensure that the lake and the space around it is managed carefully to ensure people can enjoy themselves safely. 

“In order to manage the numbers of swimmers and lake users safely we are introducing some temporary fencing around the lake perimeter to restrict the amount of people in the water at any one time.

"Access will be ticketed and there will be a small charge to enter. There will be lifeguards on duty during opening hours." 

PTP Coaching, which runs lifeguarding at the lake, has offered refunds for people who have booked swimming slots during the next few days.

The park was relaunched last weekend after a £6.8 million renovation and has been a huge hit with people testing out the wild swimming lake as temperatures have soared.

However, parents began to raise concerns about lifeguarding around the swimming lake and depth of the water for children after a child was taken to hospital on Monday afternoon.

READ MORE: Beckenham Place Park swimming lake feared 'unsafe' by parents

At the time, a dad-of-two from the area named Ben told News Shopper: “If you go to a local leisure centre, children aren’t allowed in the water unsupervised.

“You hear stories in the summer about children and even young men who have drowned.

“Who’s going to take responsibility when there’s another little coffin led out of there?”

A Lewisham Council spokeswoman said health and safety was "paramount" to the council and regulations around use of the lake were "explicit" on the website.