LEVELS of poisonous blue green algae (BGA) have spiked at a nature reserve, according to experts.

It comes after special probes were ripped out of Testwood Lakes.

Environment experts and police bosses have issued a warning about the ‘killer’ algae – which can cause dizziness, nausea, kidney and liver problems.

Experts warn it can also be fatal to dogs and Totton Police wrote on social media: “The water at Testwood Lakes can kill.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust said: “We were recently informed that BGA counts in Testwood Lakes had increased dramatically and stood at a level that could pose a long-term threat to human health if ingested.

“During warm dry weather such as that we’ve been having over the past few months can lead to a bloom in BGA.”

“We immediately erected warning signs and increased patrols to discourage people from swimming and from allowing dogs into the lakes and we will remove warning signs on site and update our website when we are confident that the water is safe again.”

The warning comes after CCTV footage showed a group of young people removing algae probes from the lakeside on June 20.

The 4th New Forest North Scouts installed the £2,000 probes last year to ensure the water at the pontoon would be safe for them to go in.

Since the equipment has been removed, levels of BGA have risen from 0 to 10,000 blooms.

Scout Leader, Marcus Sly said:

“The safety threshold for BGA is 20 blooms so 10,000 is ridiculous – it truly shows how effective the probes were in ensuring the BGA levels were safe.”