How to fill in a garden pond

Hi,

the house we bought has a garden pond and with 2 young children we have obvious safety concerns.

Does anyone know what the best material/method to use to fill in the pond with a view to taking out the material and restoring it to a working pond in a few years. So we do not want to damage the plastic underlay or use material that could become boggy/smelly.

It is about 3 feet deep with a wire mesh supporting stones and these stone are about 1-2 inches above the water line.

We have though about getting a pond guard
but would prefer if the garden did not have any water.

Why don't you fill it in with stones and use a fountain pump to create a feature that is child friendly.

Thnks for the reply and there is already a pump and a mini-water fall. We also thought about filling it in with stones and pebbles but our main concern is safety for our own children and our friends' children.

Why not cover it over with a sheet of weld mesh 50x 100mm or similar? This can be anchored in place with steel pegs and will prevent accidents.

Remember that if you want to convert it to be a usable area now you will have a problem with drainage (obviously) as the sealed membrane will be waterproof unless you make some allowance for water to drain out of it which may require you puncturing the liner.