A dog walker spent half an hour picking up rubbish and broken glass at a beautiful nature reserve last week.

Jo Luke contacted this newspaper after being absolutely disgusted by the mess left at a pond in Horton Country Park on Tuesday, May 26. The area is regularly visited by herons and deer.

Mrs Luke said: "I spent half an hour picking up rubbish and broken glass. The pond is full of lager bottles and probably more broken glass so the dogs were unable to take their usual paddle.

"It's such a beautiful place and it was terrible to see the mess this morning. Where were the rangers?

"Why are these people allowed to get away with this? It's not the first time I have had to clear up this area but I can honestly say that it was the worst I've seen it in six years."

Mrs Luke said she had spoken to rangers about the fact that people often go fishing in the country park and leave mess behind.

An Epsom Council spokesman said their rangers visit the county park every day, clear up litter and ask anyone fishing there to leave.

He said: "Generally, we do not tend to have significant rubbish issues in the park as the majority visit responsibly however it only takes one person to spoil it for other users.

"Kudos to the lady for picking up the litter."

He said fishing was banned to safeguard the wildlife, but children and others still fish there illegally. He noted that dogs should also not be allowed swim in the nature reserve ponds.