Footpath improvement works are being carried out around the sailing lake at Fairlands Valley Park in Stevenage, prompting fresh calls for safety barriers to be installed.

Stevenage Borough Council says it is carrying out some "essential improvement works" to the footpath that runs around the sailing lake, on the eastern side, which should take two weeks to complete.

The news has prompted fresh calls for railings to be installed around the lake, after a double pushchair with two children strapped inside plunged into the water last month.

Thankfully, a stranger leapt into the water to help struggling mum Stacey Pallister drag the pushchair out of the water, and the two children were unharmed.

This is not the first time a pushchair has plunged into the lake and, in light of the council's footpath improvement works, Stevenage residents are now repeating calls for safety railings to be installed.

One resident said: "A railing would be an amazing addition. It’s not just about kids. My mum would benefit massively from something like that, as she can be unsteady on her feet."

Another added: "A railing would be nice. I have serious anxiety at Fairlands."

A third resident said: "I hope they’re levelling the pavement, making it safer for prams."

The council, however, has already told the Comet that fencing off the lake is not on the cards.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: "It isn’t possible to remove all risks associated with open water, and it is not feasible to fence off the entire lake at Fairlands Valley Park."