City water feature was bricked over to stop people glued to their phones from falling in

A £1m water feature has been bricked over after people staring at their phones kept falling in.

The owners of the Rill, a 260-metre open channel of flowing water that has linked Tower Bridge with London Bridge Station since the early 2000s, were apparently worried about potential lawsuits from pedestrians glued to their screens.

Many living in the area said they were disappointed and blamed it on extra footfall created by the development of London Bridge Station.

Writing on A London Blog, one fan of the feature said it was "now seen as a health and safety risk as people constantly slip into it and there must have been a number of minor injuries."

They added: "It's a shame really as it was a nice water feature, some will think it's health and safety gone mad.”

Another commenter who used the name Borough Bloke, said: "Like others I love it, but have tripped on it more than once and ended up with a shoe full of water too. Not surprised they are infilling it."

David Keavney, 36, who works nearby, said he was not surprised to see it closed.

"The amount of people I've seen walking and texting and they fall over, it happens all the time,” he said.

"I'm all for design but public safety has to be a priority."

The planning application to pave over the water feature was submitted to Southwark Council by Broadgate Estates Limited in May. The planning documents state that The Rill will be blocked up in a way that means it could be reinstated.

Ian Kirkpatrick, commercial director of the Fountain Workshop, based at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, which built the water feature, said he was disappointed.

"We don't know why the decision was made,” he said.

"But obviously we are very sad to see it go."

Broadgate Estates, which manages More London, did not respond to a request for comment.