Police warn Edinburgh revellers they face arrest and prosecution after disorder at the Meadows

Residents call for action over litter left by crowds

The litter left at the Meadows is "unprecedented" says Alex Orr

POLICE have vowed to hunt down those responsible for disorder in the Meadows and warned they face arrest and prosecution.

Trouble broke out at the Capital beauty spot two nights running as sunny weather, the easing of the lockdown and end of term brought large numbers of people out across the city.

There were reports of a mass brawl at the Meadows on Thursday evening - the hottest day of the year - and police said 11 fixed penalty tickets were issued for urinating and antisocial behaviour offences.

Volunteers used rubbish bags to spell out the number of people who have died from Covid in Scotland. Photo: Lucy Norris

Residents made clear their disgust at the vast amount of litter left behind by revellers, labelling it shameful and selfish.

A group of volunteers collected bags of litter and arranged them to spell out the number of people who have died in Scotland from coronavirus: 2482.

And one resident drew up a “Manifesto for the Meadows” calling for more litter bins, increased rubbish collections and patrols.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, at her daily Covid briefing, appealed for people not to take part in large gatherings.

Council employees clear the waste left in the Meadows after a large gathering on the hottest day of the year

She said: “While I understand - and I really, really do - people’s desire to enjoy the sunshine on the very few days a year we have any, please avoid crowded places.

“When large crowds gather, it provides opportunities for the virus to spread. This virus will take those opportunities if we give them to it, so we mustn’t provide them.”

And she urged people to take their litter away with them or dispose of it responsibly. “Refuse collectors across the country are doing an incredible job and I do want to thank them - but they simply should not be having to clean up after mass gatherings.”

Police also appealed to the public to refrain from gathering in large groups

Resident Alex Orr says there should be more bins, more frequent collections and increased patrols

Superintendent Mark Rennie said: “We have some fantastic parks and open spaces in the city for our residents to enjoy, and it’s been reassuring to see the vast majority of residents adhering to the government guidelines.

“But over the last week as the weather has improved, we have seen larger gatherings at the Meadows, Portobello beach and other areas of the city. The regulations remain that people should only leave the house for very limited purposes.

“We will continue to engage with the public, explain the legislation and encourage compliance, using enforcement as a last resort. However, disorder, drunkenness and antisocial behaviour won’t be tolerated and those involved face arrest and prosecution.

“Over the last two nights we have seen large crowds gather in the Meadows specifically and some isolated disturbances later in the evening. This was completely unacceptable behaviour and we are carrying out an investigation to identity those who engaged in disorder within the park.”

He said police would be working with the city council this weekend to manage parks and green spaces across the city.

“My advice is not to gather in groups in the Meadows and we will have a continuous presence in the area to prevent disorder and ensure the safety of residents.”

Resident Alex Orr said the number of people gathering on the Meadows and the amount of litter left afterwards were a clear cause for concern.

And he drew up a five-point “manifesto” suggesting more bins, bins emptied more frequently, greater use of litter patrols and on-the-spot fines, more signage telling people to bin their rubbish and a social-media campaign urging people to take pride in the city.

He also suggested the council could consider designated barbecue areas to avoid the grass being scorched.

He said: “We live in a beautiful city, one of the best cities in the world, and the parks are the lungs of the city and yet we have people are happy just to walk off and leave lots of rubbish lying on the ground and disappear off into the night. I don’t understand the thinking of people who would do that sort of thing.

“We’re so much more environmentally aware in other ways, people can see issues around global warming but somehow can’t see the link with leaving great mounds of rubbish at the Meadows.

“If you bring your stuff there you can take it away - if local bins are spilling over you can put it in a bin on the way home or take it home with you.”

Mr Orr acknowledged there had often been litter in the Meadows on summer days in the past. But he said: “What we have seen in the past few days is unprecedented, much more than normal.”

Crime writer Ian Rankin is among those who took to social media to highlight the litter problem at the Meadows. And he tweeted his admiration for the crews having to clear it up: “Hats off to the council workers who’re out at first light tidying all the rubbish left on The Meadows.”

Edinburgh Tory group leader Iain Whyte backed the call for more patrols in city parks an suggested council staff could be redeployed to boost the numbers.

He said: “I’m firmly of the view there are all sorts of rules being broken in our parks at the moment. People are gathering in much bigger groups than they are meant to.

“The council has very few environmental wardens after cuts the administration made a couple of years ago, so now would seem the perfect time to retrain and repurpose some of out other staff who aren’t able to do their normal job so they can be out patrolling our parks on warm days.

“Give them appropriate support and maybe have them out in teams with staff who normally do the job, just giving the public advice and help and if they spot people dropping litter they can take some action on it.

“We don’t want it to be a heavy-handed thing, but you can give people a lot of advice. There are large numbers of barbecues being lit on the grass, for instance, which is against the park rules and no-one appears to do any advice or enforcement about it.”

Green councillor Gavin Corbett praised the council’s waste collection teams for their hard work and patience.

But he said: “Litter is a shared responsibility, not something that can be dumped for a beleaguered council worker to deal with.”

He called for a “much sharper and more provocative” public education campaign.

And he added: “Things would be so much easier if there was far less waste in the first place. The much-delayed deposit return scheme for glass, cans and plastic should start to change attitudes about litter. Let’s hope it is here soon.”

Council Leader Adam McVey said the city’s year-round “Our Edinburgh” campaign targeted littering and other campaigns during the pandemic had encouraged people to help look after the Capital

He said: “It’s great that we’ve got so many beautiful spaces where people can enjoy the sunshine across the city, but our parks and beaches are not urinals or rubbish dumps.

“These spaces are for all of us to enjoy and we all need to help to keep them beautiful. We wholeheartedly share people like Ian Rankin’s sentiments on twitter – who highlighted our cleansing teams are making a ‘heroic effort’ picking up after people who irresponsibly drop their rubbish and without them our beaches and green spaces wouldn’t be the welcoming places they are.

“The pictures of litter strewn across the Meadows and other parks, or reports of people urinating near the beach are simply not acceptable.

“Our street cleansing teams are working extremely hard to keep the city clean and tidy in hugely difficult circumstances. All of us need to help that effort by binning litter, taking it home if bins are full and waiting until they get home to use the toilet.”