Park lakes can be a tremendous asset to the communities in which they are set: the focal point of the local area of greenery, somewhere to fish, to sail model boats, or just to sit, watch and relax. However, they don't look after themselves. They need to be cared for and treated with respect.

Lister Park lake, restored as part of the grand design to revamp the whole park, is now enjoying something of its former glory with its long-lost pleasure boats restored to it. Peel Park's ornamental lake is home to several varieties of ducks and geese.

Bradford Moor Park lake, though, is reported to be in a sorry state. One resident contacted the Council after finding it thick with litter and with dead fish floating on its surface. The authority says that it cleans the lake on a weekly basis, and that if it is particularly bad, extra efforts are organised.

The problem, as so often with litter, seems to be not so much inadequate clearing-up as the depressing certainty that all too soon the rubbish taken away will be replaced by more of the same. It is symptomatic of a lack of pride shown by local people in the environment in which they live and play.

Perhaps the way forward would be for the local councillors to consult extensively with residents of all generations in the area and try to involve them in a major clean-up of the lake in a bid to generate a sense of public involvement in the park - a well-used but also rather abused local amenity which has a lot of potential.