Auchmithie clean-up prompts call to litterbugs to cut it out

An Angus beach clean has prompted Scotland’s tourist guides to urge visitors and locals to stop dumping rubbish.

Members of the Scottish Tourist Guides Association were appalled by what they found on their litter picks to mark Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2020.

Blue Badge tourist guide Lennie Fuller, who came up with the idea, joined fellow guides Ross Hendrie and Jim Leslie for a clean-up at Auchmithie beach near Arbroath which is a popular location for sea anglers fishing for cod from the beach and visitors picnicking on the shore.

As a keen fisherman himself, Lennie said it was extremely disappointing to find discarded fishing line and other tackle on the beach plus plastic drinks bottles and empty cans left along the shoreline.

“Discarded fishing line in particular poses a real risk to seabirds and marine mammals who can become entangled in the line which can cause serious injury or even death,” he said.

“I would encourage anyone fishing from the shore or just enjoying a picnic on the beach to take any litter or discarded tackle home with them.”

He said he and Ross were members of Green Tourism, which promotes environmentally friendly ways for businesses and organisations to operate.

“We encourage all our visitors to respect the environment when visiting Scotland,” said Lennie. “An empty bottle or can weighs a lot less than a full one so just take it to the nearest recycling bin.”

The Scottish Tourist Guides Association has more than 500 members in Scotland.

They include more than 300 Blue Badge Tourist Guides.