A couple came up with a clever way of reusing an old bath tub after being quoted up to £80 just to get rid of it.
Instead of the damaged bath tub being thrown away, Rachel Ball, 27 and her partner Kieron, 33, decided to make it into a garden water feature.
Rachel, from Sheffield, explained: "I contacted a removal service, who wanted to charge between £60 and £80 to remove it.
"Me and my partner wondered if it was possible to make a pond. Our daughter’s birthday was coming up, and she had been asking for pet fish. However, I didn’t like the idea of a fish tank as we don’t have much space for one in the house.
"Last January and February, we had severe winds which had left us with fence panels that had blown through. We decided to use these as a base and frame for an upcycled pond.
"I made a pond guard out of some old dado rail and garden netting from the shed. Then I looked for a fish pump on Facebook Marketplace, and came across one for £30."
The process of creating the pond took three days in total.
"We placed the old bathtub in the top garden, where there were already slabs. I removed the front two slabs and replaced them with some decorative pebbles from the front drive," Rachel explained.
"Our old swimming pool had burst and it was lying around in the shed, so we used this as a protective sheet for the hole and plug.
"We tried using Visqueen for the pond lining, which we already had in the shed. The hose pipe wasn’t long enough so we connected it to the jet wash and balanced it so we could fill it up.
"Unfortunately the next morning it leaked, so I rang up my local garden centre and they helped me with getting a pond liner, which was £22.99.
"After we put the liner in, we built the top frame and started the front panelling. Then we secured the panels with an additional piece of wood.
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: "Creating a pond can be costly, so repurposing old items such as a bathtub is a great way to get the project done on a budget.
"If you want to use your own tub to create a pond, I’d recommend keeping it above the ground so that small animals aren’t at risk of falling in.
"Don’t forget to find a decent recirculating pond pump and filter, which should be sufficient for the estimated water volume of the tub.
"Decorative ponds often contain aquatic plants – don’t get these mixed up with tropical pond plants, which need to be stored indoors if you live in a particularly cold area."