Three dogs die after drinking from fishing lake
The lake will be closed for at least a week while tests are carried out (stock photo).
Three dogs have died after drinking from a fishing lake in Dartford, Kent Police have revealed.
Several other dogs are said to be in a critical condition at a local veterinary surgery after drinking from the same lake.
Brooklands Lake, which is off Powder Mill Lane, has been cordoned off and will be closed for at least a week while the Environment Agency carries out tests. Members of the public are being advised to avoid the area.
People were also warned to avoid the lake in 2013 after blue-green algae was found following a spell of hot weather. It has not yet been confirmed whether the water from the lake caused the dogs' illness.
A spokesman for the Environment Agency is quoted by Kent Online as saying: "Until we've analysed the necessary samples, we won't know what has caused these deaths.
"We haven't had any reports of fish dying, but that it also being looked at… Contamination, and diseases such as Weil's are being checked for."
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
