ESSENTIAL repair work has begun on a pond at Breary Marsh Nature Reserve.

Leeds City Council has been keeping a close eye on Paul's Pond, a fish pond at the southern end of the Bramhope reserve, since last December.

The authority called in a reservoir inspector in March after a large hole had appeared near the dam path, and they found a leaking dam wall that needed urgent repairs.

Work on draining the pond to allow the wall repairs to be done is now well underway, and all the fish are due to be removed from the site this week.

Red-eared terrapins known to be in the water, meanwhile, are to be taken to Tropical World in Leeds, while swan mussels will be rehomed in Golden Acre Lake and Cookridge Hall Golf Course's ponds.

And any white-clawed crayfish – an endangered species – that are retrieved are to be taken to a safe new site.

The scheme will also include removing all the silt within a 30-metre radius of the pool's valve chamber, and all the vegetation that is growing out of the upstream face of the dam wall.

A number of trees on the downstream face of the dam are also to be removed, while nearby footpaths are set to be closed from next week – starting on Monday – until the work is completed.

The project's costs, which are to be covered by Strategic Investment Board funding, are expected to total £141,823.