UNDER the careful eye of Angling Watch UK, Lliswerry Pond has become a haven for those wanting to enjoy nature and is fast becoming a hub for the community.

After a very successful Easter event, the Angling Watch UK team have seen 250 kids sign up for their next event on August 6.

It shows just how highly regarded the event was that families have already fully booked an event three months in the future.

Now the group are moving ahead with plans to get a security fence installed at the pond to protect it late at night.

This comes after a series of incidents in February and March where widlife was killed and property vandalised after volunteers had gone home.

However, Angling Watch UK chairman, Ben Edmunds, stressed that if the fencing does go up it will not mean that people are unwelcome at the pond.

Mr Edmunds said: "We assure everyone that this is not going to be a syndicate when the fence goes up.

"It will be open to the public between the hours of 7am and 8pm at night."

"We've got to have a big meeting with the community first.

"Because of what we do in the community we just want to keep them updated in case there are any disagreements about the fence."

Construction of the fence is a long way off as Angling Watch UK need to resubmit an application to the council to remove the old fence and etend the new one.

This process is expected to take around eight months.

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There is also the question of funding.

The fence will cost £25,000 to construct and install and so far Angling Watch UK do not quite have the money.

However, with one £10,000 grant obtained with the help of recently reelected councillor Deb Harvey and another £10,000 from the National Lottery, the £25,000 target is within reach.

Once the fence is constructed, there are plans to build two wooden huts in the perimeter to act as classrooms for children visiting the pond.

There are also plans to get the small cabin that Angling Watch UK operate from connected to electricity as it currently runs off a generator.

This generator cost about £20 a week to run in the middle of winter.

For now though, the focus is on building on the goodwil created in the community by the Easter event and on getting the remaining funding for the security fence.

To contact Angling Watch UK about helping them with this, email anglingwatchuk@hotmail.com.