AN investigation has been launched after a man died in hospital after being found in a village duck pond.

Police and ambulance service were called after the man was found at 7.30am yesterday in Grove Pond in Church Road, Tiptree.

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “Two ambulances and an ambulance officer vehicle were called to a pond in Church Road, Tiptree, following reports of a man being in the water. A man was transported to Colchester Hospital”.

Sadly, despite efforts to save his life, the man was later declared dead.

One resident from Glebe Road said the pond was neglected but it was the first time she had heard of an incident there.

She said: “Tiptree Parish Council does not take care of the pond. You can see the trees overgrowing, the paving is uneven and cracked in some places and they haven’t cleaned it out in ages. It just needs a bit if TLC I think.”

She added: “I’ve lived here since 1972 and I’ve never heard of anyone drowning here.

“Of course, if it is an elderly gentleman who fell then there’s nothing to be done. It’s a terrible accident in any case.”

Another resident from Glebe Road was out walking her dog and came back to a policeman standing by her house.

She said: “When I came back, we could hear the sirens and we thought somebody’s in trouble but we didn’t think it would be right near our house.

“They had been working on him for a long time. They were there at 7.30am and were still working on him until 10am.

“It is not possible to drown in there at all unless the person was ill. There’s so much noise, especially with the children there, that it’s become normal.”

A police cordon was put up around the pond but was taken down at about 11.30am.

A police spokesman said: “His death is being treated as unexplained and our inquiries are ongoing.”

The Gazette contacted Tiptree Parish Council for comment but it did not respond at the time of going to press.