Dumb dumper hit with £200 penalty
A fly tipper was fined £200 for dumping furniture by a rural road.
The national park authority took action following the incident near Port of Menteith.
Park rangers discovered a large amount of household items, including a couch and chairs, dumped in a layby.
Following a joint investigation between the authority and Stirling Council, the person responsible was identified and issued with a fixed penalty notice for £200.
A spokesman for the park said they could not name the person responsible as the issue was dealt through a fixed penalty notice and did not go through the court.
Park chief executive Gordon Watson said: “Fly-tipping is a criminal act that threatens wildlife and does significant damage to habitats and to the local communities whose economies rely heavily on tourism.
“On this occasion we were able to initiate legal proceedings due to the hard work and determination of park staff and Stirling Council to track down the person responsible.
“The majority of people who live in and work in the national park dispose of their litter responsibly. However, we would encourage anyone who witnesses fly-tipping to report it as soon as possible.”
Stirling Council’s environment and housing convenor Jim Thomson said: “Fly-tipping is a serious blight on our beautiful country and has cost implications, not only for the environment but for all Stirling’s council tax payers for cleaning it up.”
Derek Robertson from Keep Scotland Beautiful said: “It is completely unacceptable that selfish individuals think it is OK to dump their unwanted items in our beautiful national park.
“Our research confirms that there are more than 60,000 incidents of fly-tipping in Scotland every year.
“That’s almost 170 every single day, and that’s just the incidences which are reported.
“Fly-tipping is not a victimless crime.
“It is estimated that it costs council tax payers more than £8.9 million every year to clear up fly-tipping, which is money that could clearly be spent on better things.
“This environmental crime will not be tolerated.”
The illegal disposal of waste carries a fine of up to £40,000. Antone who sees fly-tipping can call 08452 304090 or visit www. dumbdumpers.org.