A FOUNTAIN clogged with rubbish opposite Nottingham Magistrates' Court will be cleaned this month.

People who have been arrested and then released from the Bridewell custody suite have been dropping 'prisoner's property' bags into the water alongside general litter.

Visitors to the court and local workers who sit at the site have complained about its appearance.

Gurjinder Dhaliwal and Paul Tomblin, who were passing the area this week, said it needed a clean up.

Mr Dhaliwal, 40, of Bilborough, said: "It's in the city centre and there are lots of people who pass near here.

"There are lots of bars across the canal with people sitting outside and it should look nice and clean for them."

Mr Tomblin, 63, of Heanor, said: "It looks a mess and wants cleaning up, it's not very attractive. If you are trying to make the canal a focal point there needs to be something done about it more regularly."

Graham Hooper, justices' clerk at the magistrates' court, said: "The fountain is the responsibility of the Estates of Her Majesty's Courts Midlands Section.

"The fountain is cleaned twice a year, costing £1,000 each time. There are regular patrols by our staff and they are instructed to remove litter dumped in the fountain.

"Rubbish is dumped in there regularly. There is a complaints office publicised within the court house."

Ducklings are often seen on the water in the fountain.

Sophie Wilkinson, of the RSPCA East Midlands, said: "If there are all sorts of things in the water it is going to affect their ability to feed.

"We would appeal to people not to dump in this area."

The Royal Institute of British Architects polled Nottingham residents in 2007 and found that the court was the third favourite modern building in the city.

The landmark building features an 85ft high Roman-style atrium costing £25m and was the largest of its kind in England and Wales. It opened in November 1995, with capacity for 28 courtrooms and was designed by architect Tim Sheil.

michael.greenwell@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk