Fed-up residents living near a posh beauty spot say their lawns and pavements are being ruined by geese droppings.<br /><br />Homeowners say the birds have been straying from Maiden Erlegh Nature Reserve in upmarket Earley, Berks., and onto nearby estates where the average house price is £700,000.<br /><br />Town councillors were told Canada Geese nesting on the reserve may be trying to avoid an aggressive new pair of wild swans who attack adult birds.<br /><br />And it has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of geese flocking to the site in the summer months, sparking fears of mass droppings again this year. <br /><br />Now residents are calling for the pavements - which they claim pose a health hazard - to be more cleaned more regularly. <br /><br />Steve Feltham, secretary of a local residents association, said: "I have never seen anything as bad as what happened last year. <br /><br />“Lawns are inundated, but when we cut our lawns, it goes down a bit and we can protect our lawns with some string tied to a couple of posts. <br /><br />"It’s the pavements that’s the issue. You have to dodge it to walk past it without standing in it."<br /><br />Mr Feltham, who raised concerns at a recent town council meeting, said he fears the droppings could pose a health risk to children playing outside.<br /><br />He said the geese has previously strayed as far as Lakeside, the street next to the reserve.<br /><br />But last summer, they were spotted further away from the reserve and were nesting in wooded areas of residential streets.<br /><br />And there are fears they may return in bigger numbers this summer and leave more mess, prompting calls for authorities to do more to deter them nesting in residential areas.<br /><br />Mr Feltham added: "We're not asking for anything to be done about the actual geese, they are really cute and we all enjoy living near a nature reserve.<br /><br />"But they are quite prolific, you have to dodge the droppings, that's the issue. We're asking if they can reduce the number of sites available for nesting and foraging.<br /><br />"Last year, we had a rise in goslings being led around the estate by their parents. <br /><br />"They're really cute but as they grow up, they create an awful mess and have been leaving droppings all over lawns and pathways.<br /><br />"It can be a danger to children and the elderly. We've had a lot of complaints from our residents asking what we can do about it.<br /><br />"All we're asking for is for the pavements to be cleaned on a regular basis in the summer months.<br /><br />"It used to be only Lakeside, they've now gone onto the more residential roads. <br /><br />"We've always had Canada Geese, Egyptian Geese and they've always been very welcome.<br /><br />"But over the last few years, the number of Canada Geese has been something else and we've never had as many as we had last year."<br /><br />Mr Feltham said the council agreed to seek expert advice on how to deal with the goose droppings at a meeting earlier this month.<br /><br />In the meantime, residents have been urged to put up temporary fences along their lawns and discouraged from feeding the geese.<br /><br />Earley Town Council has been approached for comment.
