PROBLEM geese in Chesham could be moved away from the town to help alleviate health concerns.

A survey carried out last year showed that nearly two-thirds of residents felt the bird population at Skottowe's Pond, in Lowndes Park, was too high and creating a nuisance for visitors.

Our pictures show a visitor to the park having to fend off the geese as they get too close to youngsters - but health fears have also been given as a reason for having to control their numbers.

As a result, the town's council is looking to relocate some of the birds, with a site in Luton being one of many the council is considering.

Bill Richards, the town clerk, said: "Geese are the problem. There's no secret a lot of them are domestic geese that have been dumped and there were some concerns over the spread of avian flu last year as a result.

"All waterfowl have a negative effect on the quality of the water and nearby greens so we are looking to find alternative sites for them, but there are still one or two hoops to get through."

Councillors voted to implement a Waterfowl Management Policy at a meeting last week to help the process of re-siting the birds. It was suggested that if things got so bad some of the birds may need to be culled, but this was only being considered as a "very last resort".

Mr Richards added: "If we cannot find anywhere to re-site the birds and they continue to remain a problem then methods of lethal control will be considered.

"That is very much a last resort," he added.

Previously the council had relocated moved domestic geese to Woodside Wildfowl Park in Luton