Kilpatrick hills litter louts slammed as 'disgusting' as rubbish taints beauty spot

Photos taken by the Hardgate and District Angling Club show the mess in the forest area surrounding the Cochno Loch and Jaw Reservoir.

The pictures show rubbish, leftover alcohol bottles, food wrappers, disregarded tents and sleeping bags, as well as burnt trees.

Leftover bottles, food wrappers, sleeping bags, tent and rubbish have spoiled the Jaw Reservoir

Club members have been left to clean up the mess, taking black bags into the area in an attempt to clean the place up.

Lynda Chisholm, who has been fishing in the area since she was nine years old, described the scenes as “disgusting”.

She said: “It’s all around the reservoir when you walk up to the front, if there’s wee beach bits or somewhere to sit it’s everywhere.

Leftover bottles, food wrappers, sleeping bags, tent and rubbish have spoiled the Jaw Reservoir

“Last year it was horrendous too, just constant rubbish. It’s our duty as members of the club to pick stuff up as we need to keep it tidy.

“As the weather gets warmer people want to get up there, but they leave things behind and don’t bother cleaning.

“It’s a lovely place and I don’t understand why people want to make it so much worse.”

Now that lockdown limits on travel within Scotland have been eased there are fears the problem could be about to get much worse, and Lynda has asked people to respect the area.

“I don’t think they realise that club members have to pick it all up,” Lynda continued.

Leftover bottles, food wrappers, sleeping bags, tent and rubbish have spoiled the Jaw Reservoir

“The police have been contacted, but it’s so far out the way so there’s not much the police can do.

“People need to respect the area. If you take stuff there, take the rubbish home.

“It’s actually disgusting. There’s no respect at all. A lot of the members are getting sick of it.

“The place is a mess. The pictures are nothing compared to what’s actually going on up there.

A spokesperson for Forestry and Land Scotland, which own the land, said: “As Scotland gets re-accustomed to travelling further afield for leisure pursuits, we would appeal to the public to help avoid repeats of the behaviour that last year saw many of our sites swamped by litter, and in some cases despoiled by human waste.

Leftover bottles, food wrappers, sleeping bags, tent and rubbish have spoiled the Jaw Reservoir

“This sort of anti-social behaviour not only creates a significant health hazard, but also eats into the limited resources we as land managers have at our disposal.

“Attempts to set fires during a high-risk period where SFRS warnings are in place is also potentially life-threatening and could significantly impact upon local habitats and biodiversity for years to come.

“Scotland is for everyone to enjoy but is also for everyone to look after.

“We would ask people to be considerate and kind towards our staff, local communities and fellow visitors.”