Blenheim’s lake ‘may dry up in 5 years’

THE race is on to save Blenheim Palace’s famous lake amid fears it could dry up in five years.

Inspectors found 400,000 tons of silt on the lake bed – enough to fill Wembley Stadium to its roof.

Yesterday the Blenheim Estate announced a £12million project to save the lake, which risks turning into a bog if silt is not removed.

Roy Cox, of Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, said the lake was created by damming the River Glyme, but this had stopped the flow of sediment downstream. ‘This is basically the river fighting back over 300 years,’ he said.