LAKEHOUSE lake is looking good and is well on its way to becoming a pond to be proud of, thanks to a group of volunteers.

The former model boat pond, situated in Dames Road, Wanstead Flats, has been cleared of all sorts of 'unusual' and interesting' debris by the Lakehouse Lake Project, a group of volunteers determined to clean up the pond and the surrounding area.

The project volunteers, were joined by the members of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) in October and between them they removed a skip full of unwanted articles from the pond which dates back to 1907.

The BTCV provided a skip, tools and rubbish bags, and other helpers wheeled along wheel barrows and a van was enlisted to ferry heavy objects away from the pond.

Objects removed included doors, a stop sign, tyres, underwear, condoms, and scaffolding.

The pond has long been used by people from Redbridge and Waltham Forest to sail model boats on, specially on Sunday mornings, but by the end of the 1980s the pond was full of silt.

It was de-silted by the Corporation of London, who look after the area, but the lining of the pond was damaged and not able to hold water.

Plans to renovate the pond were agreed by the Corporation in January and work on the new pond will begin in February next year.