COLCHESTER Council bosses have called for residents to be their eyes and ears after a THIRD person was filmed taking money from a park wishing pond.

The Gazette has been passed the fresh pictures, which appear to show a man arriving at the Imola Pond, in upper Castle Park on Thursday evening.

He then gets down on the ground and reaches into the water, appears to pick up money - meant for the Friends of Castle Park - and then leaves the area.

An eyewitness told the Gazette the incident took place while park gardeners were removing a fence at the nearby new sensory garden.

It is the third incident of its kind in recent months and council bosses have urged witnesses to report anyone acting suspicious.

They also warn anyone caught taking money from the pond will be reported to Essex Police.

A council spokesman said: “We are once again dismayed to hear of reports of coins being removed from Imola Pond without authorisation, in spite of our park rangers stepping up patrols to deter further wrongdoing.

“We would encourage anyone who witnesses coins being removed from the pond to report the incident to park staff as soon as possible, so we might apprehend those involved and report them to the police.”

Councillor Darius Laws (Con) echoed the call and said the time has come for harsh action.

“This is getting bad now. We have also had reports of teenagers doing it as well as the adult men we have seen on camera. It’s not cool and it must be stopped.”

Mr Laws said new signs warning against the behaviour might deter others from doing it but urged harder action.

He said: “To be honest, I’m probably more of a fan of the stick approach to this.

“We have made it clear this behaviour is not acceptable and people are still doing it.

“I firmly believe this will become a thing of the past when park rangers are issued with body worn cameras.

“We have seen that in action in the town centre and we know it does deter people.”

He added: “Let’s start threatening people with being banned from the park.

“I would also urge people, if they see this sort of behaviour taking place, to immediately let the park rangers know. By doing that, we can stop this.”

To report non-criminal suspicious behaviour in the park, call the park ranger station on 01206 282962.