A FISH tank that cost taxpayers more than £7,000 has been left to fall into disrepair.

The tank, which was only installed in Walthamstow Central Library two years ago, used to be home to a decorative “seascape” as well as several exotic fish but is now filled with “green slime”.

Sigi Dlabal, of Bishop’s Close, Walthamstow, a library user, said: “I talked to a person in the library and was told that the fish had to be put down because they suffered from a virus.”

Fellow library user Kevin Lord, 55, of Greenleaf Road, Walthamstow, noticed the fish had been replaced with guppies and that the decoration had been removed.

He said: “If the council can’t look after a shoal of fish, there’s not much hope for the borough’s vulnerable people.

"It’s a bare tank with some little goldfish now and there’s slime on the glass.”

A £705-a-year contract was also put in place to maintain the tanks after they were installed in 2007 and concerns were raised by members of the Save St James Street Library about the cost.

Campaigners felt well-staffed, well-laid out libraries should have been the priority and added the money would have been better spent on extra resources.

Library lover and campaigner Janet Wright also questioned whether the tank’s current condition might be connected to the library’s state of repair following a fire last summer.

She said: “All that money wasted and the poor creatures not even looked after - murky water is bad maintenance.”

Mr Lord has also reported the matter to the RSPCA as he fears the fish may have suffered neglect.

“They told me they can’t deal with the fish that used to be there but they’re looking at the situation with the tank as it is now,” he said.

The council provoked fury in 2007 when it admitted pulping tens of thousands of books following the refurbishment of Walthamstow Central Library.