Outrage as lakes at world-famous lily garden turn 'custard yellow' because of ... trends now
Picturesque lakes at a world famous water lily garden have turned a 'custard yellow' due to dirty run-off water from a nearby building site, it is claimed.
Bennett's Water Gardens hold a nationally important collection of over 300 varieties of waterlilies and attracts thousands of visitors a year for its likeness to Monet's iconic garden in Giverny, France.
But the Bennett family were horrified when they found yellow clay liquid 'pouring' into their crystal clear lakes, ruining the scenic spot.
They say it was pumped into the water course by workers building an extension at a care home just upstream from them.
They do not know what the long term impact might be for their lilies and for the wildlife normally found on site, including the heavily-protected great crested newt.
It has left the owners of the family-run tourist attraction in Weymouth, Dorset, dismayed having only just opened to the public following a difficult winter.
How one of the ponds at Bennett's Water Gardens looked before the incident
How the pond looks now, with a yellow clay liquid running through it
The venue has been going for 65 years and the small footbridge that is similar to the one in Monet's paintings was installed in 1999 and is a popular photo spot for visitors.
The clay turned one lake so yellow it looks like 'custard' and it then spread into the popular 'Monet's View' lake despite efforts to divert it.
The Bennetts said that although the Environment Agency has visited the site and took samples they found it was not polluted or contaminated and left.
Angie Bennett said: 'There is a natural watercourse that comes down from the Queen Charlotte care home, which is just upstream from us.
'It runs down straight into our lakes and then ends up in Radipole nature reserve, which is an important site.
'The care home is having an extension built, they're putting the foundations in and they're pumping out all this sludge from the footings and putting it straight into a ditch that runs into this water course.
Head gardener, James Bennett, pictured next the clay coloured small pond
The clay turned one pond at the site completely yellow, which is allegedly due to dirty run-off water from a nearby building site
'We discovered all this yellow clay just pouring into the
