A WOODEN duck house built by a householder and installed on the canal in Ebley is to be removed after Stroud District Council said it posed a safety risk to children and would obstruct boats.

Grandfather John Brum, 64, spent three months building the 6ft by 4ft pine structure which can be seen floating on the waterway in front of his house in Home Orchard.

He did not think it would be a problem as the canal is not yet open to boats.

Within days, it had attracted moorhens but it also came to the notice of SDC, which has its headquarters just yards away at Ebley Mill.

The authority said the duck house could prove to be dangerous as children might be tempted to climb onto it and that pedestrians could trip over a chain which tethers it to the canal path.

An SDC spokesman said: "There are safety issues here. The restraining chain is a trip hazard right next to water and the duck house itself could well be a dangerous temptation for children.

"The canal is, or will be, a navigation which needs to be kept clear. This section of canal will be opened up this year and available for boaters and canoeists. We cannot set any precedent which will compromise this."

Council workers are due to remove it soon.

Mr Brum, who is married to Lynn, 65, and has lived by the canal for six years, said he was surprised by the reaction.

"I did not think it would cause so many problems," he said.

"I was just trying to make the area look better."

Mr Brum, a retired army warrant officer who has four children and seven grandchildren, hopes to put the duck house on a pond or lake where it is permitted once it is removed.