FED up fishermen have taken action to curb the activities of a protected predator that has been spoiling their sport.

An explosion in the number of otters in South Lakeland has seen a decline in the stock of fish in managed ponds throughout the area.

But Kendal and District Angling Club is fighting back and has just put up an otter fence costing thousands of pounds around one of their tarns at Banks Pond. The fence is to prevent carp from being eaten by the hungry invaders.

“The otters have just about destroyed the pond and they’ve taken the carp,” said club secretary Tony Ryan. “Every water in the area is affected by otters quite badly and we’ve been hit very badly.

“It’s a nationwide problem. These otters have been turned loose and the damage they are causing is huge. They’ve always been around but never in the quantities that they are at the moment.

“The carp are big fish so they’re easy to catch and the otters just slaughter them.

The club, with the help of £3,000 funding from the Environment Agency, have installed a four foot fence made out of badger wire. The bottom of the fence is buried 12 inches below ground, and the top has been turned over facing away from the water, so that otters cannot go under or over the fence.

“I would say this problem can’t go away,” said Mr Ryan. “They’re a protected species so it’s too late - obviously we can’t kill them or trap them or whatever. The only option would be to lift the protected status so they can be culled or trapped and relocted.

“It really does impact on more than just the water, it could affect the survival of the club.

“All the angling clubs around here have a tale of woe to tell about otters.”

The Windermere, Ambleside and District Angling Association said that otters have provided a problem for their ponds for years, with their first otter fence going up three years ago.

Ben Lamb, manager of South Cumbria Rivers Trust, said: “On the one hand it’s absolutely brilliant to see otters back in such great numbers because they’re fantastic animals and they show that water quality is good.

“The downside is where otters find a stock fishery like Banks Pond then they will eat it out and it costs a lot of money for clubs to re-stock. It’s very important to protect still water fisheries because you can get hours of enjoyment from them.”