A FRUSTRATED windsurfing school owner says he was forced to drag huge piles of blanket weed out of his rented boating lake for a second time after it was left unusable for months.

Darren Herbert, owner of Quiver Windsurfing, rents the boating lake and hut at Lower Marine Parade, Dovercourt from Tendring Council.

He said he asked the council for help in June to remove large amounts of algae and blanket weed gathering in the saltwater lake.

“It’s not been useable,” he added.

“The council said its on them to upkeep the grass and any algae but they are calling this blanket weed.

“It’s been a nightmare - it was 80per cent full of weed.”

Darren and a friend spent more than four hours pulling out the green weed last Wednesday and asked the council if it could be taken away.

But the next time Darren went to the lake it had been thrown back in.

He said: “It was probably kids but it’s ridiculous. I was devastated - all the hard work I do for the town.

“Normally the lake is a neon green and now it’s all brown.”

Darren is meant to be providing free taster windsurfing sessions this weekend as part of the council-run Beside the Seaside Festival.

On Wednesday he spent five hours clearing the weed for a second time so the lake can be used.

“We need to hold events here to raise money to pay the rent, which is going up by 200per cent in the next four years, and insurance costs,” Darren added.

“It’s been really hard, people think we are rolling in money but its all paying the rent and insurance.”

Nigel Brown, Tendring Council’s communications manager, said the council has carried out a number of operations this year in an attempt to resolve the situation with the weed at the lake.

“Our contractor has undertaken several treatments at the site as well as a manual removal of some of the floating weed using a floating boom,” he said.

“We are now looking into what other products are available to carry out further treatments in what is a salt water lake.“In the meantime we started to reduce the water level at the lake Tuesday and are continuing with that work in the hope that it drains the majority of the weed. We will then refill the lake on the high tide.”

Mr Brown added that in the past the council had successfully used products to treat the weed but these are no longer available.