Tourism boss trashes litter louts
THE head of VisitScotland has hit out at litter louts who trashed beauty spots across the country when lockdown restrictions were eased.
Thousands of Scots flocked to parks and beaches in the sunny weather last weekend but many refused to clear up after themselves.
In Luss, at Loch
Lomond, the shore was left covered in rubbish, while rugs, trainers, deckchairs and waste were left on Stevenston beach in Ayrshire.
A Woody doll from Disney’s Toy Story was left along with burned-out barbecues and booze bottles near Innerleithen, Peeblesshire, on Saturday.
An empty Corona lager box was in a heap of rubbish left up Ben A’an in the Trossachs over the weekend, while Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park was so crammed with litter that 35 tons was removed on Monday morning.
VisitScotland’s chief executive Malcolm Roughead laid into drunken louts, many of whom are believed to have ignored the five-mile rule central to phase one of easing out of lockdown.
He said: “Scenes of rubbish-strewn parks and beaches, drunken behaviour, traffic jams and very little thought about social distancing did not showcase the Scotland we want to live in and promote.
“Everyone was told not to drive to beauty spots because no facilities were open, including toilets and car parks.
“People made life unpleasant for the local community.
“Communities will not welcome back visitors if people don’t understand that locals living there deserve to be treated with respect.”