Teen cuts foot on loch trash
Litter picker injured at beauty spot
A teenager needed eight stitches in his foot after it was sliced open by rubbish left at a popular Perthshire beauty spot.
Conall McIntyre was taking part in a litter pick at Marlee Loch near Blairgowrie at the time.
Organised by Piotr Gudan of Alythbased activity provider Outdoor Explore, a group of 16 people collected dozens of bags of litter in just two hours.
Conall’s mum Kelly said: “He’s fine but there’s just no need for people to chuck their rubbish in the loch like that.
“It shows a total disregard for the environment and the people who thrive by it.
“We pick up a lot of rubbish left by people all year round, when the leaves fall off the trees and hedges in winter you find loads, it’s a disgrace.”
This latest incident comes as residents slammed selfish visitors to picturesque Clunie Loch, near Marlee Loch, who leave trash at the beauty spot.
Described as one of Perthshire’s hidden gems, Clunie Loch is popular with fishermen, wild swimmers, kayakers, canoeists and paddle boarders.
However, the recent good weather has attracted an increasing number of wild campers, many of whom are leaving large amounts of rubbish and waste behind according to locals.
Our sister title the Blairgowrie Advertiser even reported claims that some visitors have even cut down trees at the loch for firewood.
A group of people who live in the area and who regularly use the loch have got together on a number of occasions this year to collect the rubbish and waste that has been discarded, and they say that the problem is much worse this year.
Extreme sports enthusiast Dean Dunbar is one of those involved in the group, nicknamed the Clunie Wombles.
He said: “People have been coming down to camp on the shores of the loch, as they have been doing for the past two or three years, but the destruction they are leaving behind them is at an all-time high.
“Not only are they leaving their rubbish behind them – broken bottles, beer cans, used toilet paper but they are now cutting down trees to burn, even though the trees obviously won’t burn as they are not dried out.
“There are signs up saying ‘no overnight camping’ and ‘no camp fires,’ but if you drive past Clunie on a weekend evening, you will see plenty of both. Our group go around and clear up the rubbish left by others, only to return a few days later to find even more.
“Clunie was a beautiful, peaceful place to visit, but now with the eyesores of tent villages, scattered rubbish, wanton vandalism, and the sound of roaring speedboats and loud ghetto blasters, the loch is in a sorry state.”
It shows total disregard for the environment