A blue Toyota Prius was winched out of Clapton Pond this morning, after it was driven into the fountain last night.
The pond has been closed today to allow for repairs to the fountain’s temporary fencing and brick surround, which were damaged in the crash.
The Metropolitan Police were at the site this morning to assist with road restrictions as Lower Clapton Road, Lea Bridge, was partly shut to allow access for the specialist recovery vehicle.
From the position of the car in the pond, it appears that it came at speed from the direction of Cricketfield Road towards Lower Clapton Road, crashing through the temporary fencing and hitting the fountain.
It is unclear when in the night the vehicle entered the water. One member of the Clapton Pond Neighbourhood Action Group, who lives near the pond, said he had been “awake since 2am and had not heard anything”.
Ian Rathbone, chairman of the Clapton Pond Neighbourhood Action Group, said: “We are glad that the council has been able to remove the car. This is the first time in living memory such a thing has happened and has been quite?a shock in?an area usually calm and tranquil.
“We would like to thank the council and its contractor for being so prompt in removing it and it looks like there’s been little disturbance to the wildlife of the pond. We look forward to seeing the fence and brick surround repaired as soon as possible and the fountain turned back on.”
No injuries have been reported and the fountain will be turned back on tomorrow.
Rose Henderson is a freelance journalist, studying for a master's in newspaper journalism at City, University of London. She is a digital content producer at LBC, and her work has featured in The Telegraph and The Oxford Student, Oxford's biggest student newspaper.