Glenshee visitors breaching lockdown restrictions

Police in Perthshire have ramped up patrols at a ski centre, after an influx of visitors from neighbouring regions.

Chief Inspector Graham Binnie, area commander for Perth and Kinross, said skiers and sledgers are continuing to flout rules by travelling to Glenshee for exercise over the winter months.

The centre was forced to close in early January, meaning it has so far missed out on what could have been ideal conditions for a strong wintersports season.

Police in Tayside and Aberdeenshire have teamed up to patrol the centre and nearby roads on weekends.

The unauthorised visits have led to a rise in call-outs for mountain rescue teams, with at least one injured cross-country skier having to be helped off the slopes since the centre was shut.

Mr Binnie told members of Perth and Kinross Council’s housing and communities commmittee: “We had people travelling into the area during the summer for the purpose of wild camping but now we are seeing a few people travelling up to the ski centre at Glenshee over the winter.”

He said there had been a “spike” in the number of people getting into difficulty.

Last week, the Tayside Mountain Rescue team was scrambled to Glenshee after a skier suffered a chest injury. The crew was helped by staff at the ski centre and a local gamekeeper.

The man fell on a hill at Rheidorrach, near the centre, and was taken to Ninewells in a Coastuard search and rescue helicopter with a serious chest injury.

Mr Binnie told the committee demands on his officers had shifted since the second national lockdown began.

“The weekends now tend to be spent dealing with calls about house parties, which have replaced calls about the night-time economy and the licensing trade.

“No surprise to say that Perth is the hotspot here, but there are very few properties in the Perth and Kinross area that have come to our attention more than once. And those that have are generally on our radar, in terms of other types of anti-social behaviour.”

Committee convener Bob Brawn said: “Current regulations state that we should make essential journeys only but we are allowed out for exercise. In this instance we seem to be having a conflict between the two rules.”

The Conservative councillor for Blairgowrie and Glens – which includes the Glenshee centre – added: “Common sense should prevail here – if you live in Dundee or Angus you don’t have to come to Glenshee to exercise.

“As we start to see a light at the end of this pandemic, I would ask everyone to keep to the spirit of the regulations and ensure that we get back to normality as soon as possible.”

That people continue to breach travel protocols so many weeks after they were put in place borders on unbelievable. Glenshee, straddling Perthshire/ and Aberdeenshire is the latest rural place to struggle under the weight of visitor numbers.

Police will have to divert precious resources to the remote region to deal with the issue. There are better things they could be doing.

Mountain rescue experts have already had to work in treacherous conditions to rescue an injured skier.

Such call-outs are bound to increase as those abusing the ski centre grow in number.

Of course, it is frustrating to be locked behind doors for weeks on end, increasingly so for those who are seeing ideal weather conditions to indulge their love of snow sports.

However, there is an element of selfishness among those who cannot resist breaking the rules to do so.

The risk of coming to grief is too high.

They are unnecessarily putting in harm’s way themselves and others, including rescuers, emergency service and hospital workers, not to mention the possibility of spreading the virus with their cross-country jaunts.

Vaccinations are under way and the mountains will still be there when the population has been properly treated.

Surely it is possible to wait until it is safe to take to the slopes again.

NO ACCESS: Skiers and sledgers have been flouting travel rules to visit Glenshee.