Walkers who fed bread to ducks contributed to the death of hundreds of fish in a pond.

Environment Agency officers spent days scooping out dead fish and soggy bread from the pond next to the parish church in Falmer.

They were called to the scene a week ago after passers-by spotted dead fish floating and others splashing at the surface trying to breathe.

An agency spokesman said: "If bread is put into the water and it is not immediately eaten, it starts to rot.

"It then creates perfect conditions for algae to feed on, multiply and use up oxygen needed for fish to survive.

"Ducks really don't need feeding apart from a few weeks in winter."

The fish suffocated after heavy rains led to a drop of water temperature in the pond, which also killed off some of the algae.

Surviving algae then fed off the remains - as well as bread rotting at the bottom of the pond - and multiplied.

Roger Musselle, owner of Roger's Pet and Garden Centre in Woodingdean, said people who fed ducks large pieces of bread, were doing more harm than good.

He said: "People can still take their children to feed the ducks but it is better to feed them natural products like maize and corn which they can easily digest.

"The ducks on the pond in Falmer are unhealthy and fat because they are fed too much."