A duck pond in Ramsey has dried and led to the fish dying due to the prolonged dry spell and lack of rain.

Several members of the community have taken to social media to vent their feelings after seeing Horse Pond depleted of most of its water and have contacted Ramsey Town Council.

Ramsey mayor, Cllr Roger Brereton addressed the issue on Facebook and said: "The pond is not fed by a stream but by rain and surface run-off from the surrounding area, so in times of drought it will inevitably dry out.

"It was never intended for it to be stocked with fish for precisely these reasons. The only reason they are there, is because some people release their unwanted fish into it.

"Given the current serious concerns about water supply we cannot refill the pond."

Several people commented on the post sharing their disappointment and disbelief, with one user saying, "Regardless of how the fish arrived, those in a position to alleviate their suffering have an obligation to help."

The mayor has since indicated the town council has contacted Cambridge Water and is awaiting permission to use their water supply.

The water levels in several other rivers and brooks across Huntingdonshire have also dropped, with the East Anglia area having now moved into drought status.

Last Friday (August 12), The Environment Agency officially declared a drought in eight of the 14 areas in England.

Consequently, the lack of rainfall has continued to challenge the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Services, which has, attended more than 500 incidents so far in August, 150 more than its five-year average.

Having already seen unprecedented temperatures and calls to incidents in July, which include the two busiest days ever for the Service, staff have continued to face record levels of calls and incidents.

Area commander Stuart Smith said: “A few days saw crews respond to nearly 50 incidents, double the average of 25 we would usually see.

"Our Combined Fire Control has also been under intense pressure. Call handlers would usually expect to deal with around 850 calls from residents in both Cambridgeshire and Suffolk during this time of year.

"In Cambridgeshire alone, they have dealt with more than 650 since the beginning of August. In total they’ve seen more than 1,200, with many significant field fires happening in Suffolk.”