FORTY birds have died in one week alone on Eagle Pond in Snaresbrook after rotten food turned the water to poison.

Animal rescue organisations who have tested the bodies of the dead creatures say that food left uneaten by the overfed waterbirds is decomposing where it lies, turning the water into a breeding ground for the avian botulism bacteria.

Now pond managers have issued a stark warning to people feeding the birds that their kindness is killing them.

A spokeswoman for the City of London Corporation, who own the pond, said: "It's the amount that people are putting in, bags and bags of rice, pasta, pizzas and cooked chicken. People are in effect dumping their food, it's dreadful."

The RSPCA has been down to the pond but so many dead swans, ducks and geese have been fished out that the corporation has brought in specialist contractors to dispose of them.

The spokeswoman said: "We don't want to ban people from feeding the birds but if they aren't eating, don't give them food because if it isn't eaten it will rot."

She added that the police had been called in as suspicions grow that some of the food could be commercial waste dumped by restaurants.

Summer weather has exacerbated the problem causing the food to rot more quickly, and the lower water levels have concentrated the toxins.

The problem is also far worse on the Snaresbrook Road side of the pond from where most of the food is thrown in.

The pond is managed for the corporation by the conservators of Epping Forest who have the job of keeping the pond free of rubbish but residents have expressed concerns that rubbish might be part of the problem.

Kimberley Ramsey of Rivenhall Gardens said: "I walk past there every day to go to the station and there's loads of rubbish in the left hand corner of the pond.

"It's not being cleared and I think it's a bit of a shame because it's a very popular and beautiful area.

"I know the bread and food isn't helping but if they could clear some of this rubbish that would be a start."

The corporation spokeswoman denied that the rubbish was the source of the problem, adding: "Often if the rubbish bins are full it blows off the bins and right into the pond. We clear the pond as often as we can but it's a big old job."

dyeatman@london.newsquest.co.uk