The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fears for wildlife after car set alight
There are fears that wildlife and the environment will come to harm after “disgusting vandals” set fire to a car at a Dundee beauty spot at the weekend.
Police have confirmed that they are investigating the fire at Clatto Country Park on Saturday night.
It is feared oil and diesel from the car, which has now seeped into the ground, will feed into the reservoir and then on to Dighty Burn, putting animals at risk.
Dorothy McHugh of environmental group Friends of Clatto said she was disgusted.
She said: “The car was trashed and set on fire at the green space adjacent to the car park.
“The grassy area was also badly damaged so whoever was in the car before setting it alight was obviously doing wheelies.”
“Our fear now is that oil and diesel from the car will be washed into the reservoir the next time it rains.
“The reservoir will then feed into the Dighty and it too will end up contaminated.
“We have ducks, geese and swans on the reservoir not to mention fish in it.
“I am very concerned at the potential harm to wildlife and the environment in general because of this.
“This behaviour by vandals is just dreadful and could cause real problems.”
Dorothy added that the Friends group are becoming more concerned by increased vandalism at the park in recent months.
“We probably have to put this down to lockdown as the park has had many more visitors than normal,” she added.
“There has been a lot of damage and many instances of mindless vandalism.
“It has got so bad recently that we are considering trying to raise funding to provide CCTV cameras at the park.
“We are at the stage that we have to do something about the anti-social behaviour that is happening and ruining the area for others who like to come and enjoy it.”
Firefighters tackled the blaze at midnight on Saturday.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called to Clatto Park just before midnight on Saturday after reports that a car was on fire.
“We sent one appliance and firefighters extinguished the blaze.”
Police confirmed nobody was injured and an investigation has been launched.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We were made aware of a car on fire within Clatto Park in Dundee around 11.55pm on Saturday, February 27.
“The fire was extinguished by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and no one was injured. The fire is being treated as deliberate and inquiries are ongoing.”