Footage of people in the model boating pond has been widely circulated online

PROTECTED birds’ nests have been disrupted in a Hampstead Heath pond after hundreds of sunbathers defied a swimming ban in the bank holiday heatwave.

Coots, ducks, geese and herons were also disturbed as nesting birds fled the model boating pond over the bank holiday weekend during an invasion, say animal rights activists.

Swimmers were using nest floaters on the pontoons as jumping platforms – and footage shows one sad swan desperately pushing one of its eggs to safety along the water with its beak.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has told the New Journal that wilfully disrupting protected birds’ nests, such as the Heath swans’, would be unlawful law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

The reckless behaviours took to the pond on the weekend when the Parliament Hill Lido was shut down as the result of “unacceptable behaviour”.

Highgate resident Nelly Whychand, 50, said: “It is pure low-level, low-vibe selfishness. It’s people who don’t stop to look, to slow down. People not thinking about it.

“There is a giant billboard, saying ‘don’t swim’. If you are not so selfish, think about why that sign is there. If you stopped, you would see nests on the pontoon. Baby birds in the reeds.

“But it’s different if you are an idiot that wants to get your kit off and drink beer and jump in whatever looks wet. They are going in with suncream on. They are treating it like a beach.”

She added: “It is a big problem and we can’t just sit around any more. The little birds, the baby birds, can’t sit around waiting for letters and meetings.”

Ms Whychand said she knew the birds there by name and like many other people in the neighbourhood would often feed them with her daughter.

Campaigners are calling for nets to be put up around the perimeter of the pond, which has been redesigned as a protected nature reserve, and for signs explaining the reasons for the swim ban to be more prominent.

Chris Swinden, a member of the Hampstead and Highgate Angling Society, said: “It is particularly bad this year and swimmers seem to be swimming further out into the lake where the City have just made a £25K wildlife sanctuary. My fear is they will swim over to that island and have barbecues there, setting fire to it, which is potentially very serious. There are two swans nesting over there now with their cygnets and I am very worried for the swans.”

In March it was announced that a small causeway connecting the pond’s island with the mainland had been re­moved to “create a peaceful, undisturbed sanctuary for wetland birds and a vital reedbed habitat has been expanded”.

Reedbeds support aquatic biodiversity and provide shelter for nesting birds.

This project was funded thanks to more than £50,000 in donations to the Hampstead Heath Charity.

The scenes, which happen most years, came as the Lido was shut down on Monday after a fight broke out following “unacceptable behaviour”.

The booking slot system at the lido is not in effect at this time of year – and the beauty spot is open to the public to queue to get into, often taking up to two hours.

The lido was reopened yesterday (Wed­nesday) after a two-day closure with a new summer time booking system.

In 2019, a woman in her 20s smashed her face diving in to the pond – the latest in a long-running series of injuries at the shallow pond that is not safe for swimming.

In 2025, many dead fish were spotted with “sunken eyes” floating in the pond that were believed to have been killed by a deadly disease called Koi Herpes Virus.

When it was drained during a controversial revamp in 2015, a mysterious Ford Cortina was found at the bottom, leading to many shaggy dog stories about how it got there.

Alderman Gregory Jones of the City of London Corporation said: “The recent conduct of some visitors swimming in non-lifeguarded ponds is utterly appalling. Swimming is only permitted in the Mixed, Ladies’ and Men’s Ponds for safety reasons. Entering other non-lifeguarded water bodies is extremely dangerous, against our byelaws, and causes significant harm to wildlife habitats.

“We always seek to engage with visitors first, but the Constabulary will take enforcement action where necessary, including issuing fines or making arrests.”