Disappointed by the amount of rubbish littering Oban

I frequently walk down the steps of Jacob’s Ladder on my way from home to town and am often disappointed to see rubbish either lying around the two seats or thrown over the fence to hang up in the trees or fall to the back of the distillery below.

This is particularly disheartening to those volunteers who frequently clean up the area.

While walking down the steps last week I found a mess as bad as I’ve ever seen – plastic and glass bottles, beer cans, pizza boxes, fish supper boxes, cigarette ends, coffee cups, broken glass and all sorts of general rubbish including a leather bag full of dirty clothes.

One item of clothing has been hanging out of reach in a tree for many months.

I was told by a friend who witnessed young teenagers in action that they and a party of tourists decided not to take their children down the steps because of the drunken behaviour of these young people.

In addition to the litter, the two safety fences have recently been wrecked by the occupants of the benches kicking the fences down – one had to be completely replaced and the other repaired, although it has now been damaged again.

Nobody should have to put up with this sort of conduct, especially our visitors. Oban is no longer a Victorian working town, but a modern tourist destination depending to a great extent on visitor income. Many visitors use Jacob’s Ladder to walk up to McCaig’s Tower, though unfortunately there is plenty of rubbish there too.

I’m proud to be a resident of Oban, but have to admit that there are times when I find it quite difficult to feel that way. I would urge residents to report such activity to the authorities, who we know are keen to put an end to such anti-social behaviour.

We at Keep Oban Beautiful, and many other caring residents, do our best to clean up after the uncaring minority, but we would rather encourage people not to drop their rubbish in the first place. Anyone wishing to join us will be able to find more information on our Facebook page. Together we can make a difference.

Maurice Wilkins, Keep Oban Beautiful.