Mystery surrounds a 'spate' of dead birds that have been discovered in a park.

Locals reported seeing multiple dead birds in Oak Hill Park to Barnet Council in January, and since then more and more have been found “every day”.

One resident from East Barnet said that her daughter first spotted the dead birds when she was taking her dog for a walk.

She said: “Every day there are dead birds. Some look like they’ve just dropped out of the sky.”

She claimed that the dead birds were usually found on the football pitches.

The Times recently reported that Pymmes Brook, which runs through the park, “has effectively become an open sewer”, as nearby houses “have not had their toilets connected to the sewage system properly”.

The resident said: “I know there’s been a story about pollution in the park from sewage and we wondered whether that had anything to do with it.

“Someone also mentioned bird flu, but I didn’t know if it was around or not.”

According to government data, more than 150 cases of avian influenza have been confirmed in wild birds in the UK this year, including at least one in London.

A spokesperson for Thames Water, which is responsible for drainage in the area, said: “Over the last eight years, we have carried out more than a dozen investigations along the Pymmes Brook following reports of a pollution.

“Our team works with the Environment Agency and council officers to trace the source of these pollutions before working with property owners to rectify the problem.

“We have helped to resolve issues at over 400 properties during this time which has significantly reduced pollution in the brook."

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We encourage anyone who witnesses pollution or any other environmental incident at the brook to call our free 24-hour hotline on 0800 80 70 60”.

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “We were notified of dead birds in Oak Hill Park in January. Our grounds maintenance team investigated but were unable to find any dead birds in the park.

“We would encourage all residents to report dead animals on public land to the council under the ‘clean streets’ option via: www.barnet.gov.uk/reportit. We aim to remove them as soon as possible.”