'Appalling' scenes at Hampstead Heath pond slammed

City of London bosses have criticised the "utterly appalling" behaviour of swimmers who flocked to a Hampstead Heath pond which is home to newly hatched cygnets.

Alderman Gregory Jones said paddling in ponds without lifeguards "causes significant harm to wildlife habitats" and is dangerous.

He warned people tempted to take a dip that police "will take enforcement action where necessary, including issuing fines or making arrests" as social media footage showed people paddling close to swans in the pond over the bank holiday weekend.

It comes as a campaigner who posts on social media as Swans of Hampstead Heath said the non-swimming ponds were "increasingly being treated as beach destinations".

They said that large numbers of people going into the shallow ponds damaged the habitat and disturbed nesting wildlife, including the swans which have successfully nested on the pond "for the first time in years".

Swans of Hampstead Heath added the pond was also home to some newborn ducklings and chicks.

They warned: "Restricting these birds to a small section at the back of the pond makes it incredibly difficult for them to access the natural food they need to survive."

Jones said: "The recent conduct of some visitors swimming in non-lifeguarded ponds is utterly appalling." He added that swimming was only allowed in the Mixed, Ladies' and Men's Ponds for safety reasons.

One eyewitness who saw the crowds on Bank Holiday Monday, when temperatures in London reached 34.8C, told the BBC there were "massive no swimming signs which were ignored".

Footage posted on social media also showed a dog in the pond. Dogs are banned from the water through a Hampstead Heath by-law.

The heath is patrolled by Hampstead Heath Constabulary, which enforces by-laws, the City of London Corporation said.

It added that managing the popular open space "is all about finding a balance between the enjoyment of visitors and the conservation of the heath".

It comes as Londoners were urged to only call 999 in life-threatening emergencies as the heatwave saw call-handlers deal with more than 8,100 calls on Tuesday - levels last seen during the peak of the Covid pandemic.

London Ambulance Service's deputy chief paramedic Alison Blakely said: "It was our sixth-busiest day ever, and we saw record numbers of calls from 2pm until midnight."

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