'One day the fire will spread quickly' - Niddrie park treated as 'scrap yard' by some as burnt out van left there for weeks

Local dog walkers say a city park is turning into 'scrap yard' after pictures emerged of a burnt out van left abandoned there for weeks.

A photograph of the wreckage in Hunter’s Hall Park, Niddrie, also shows the effects of rust on the vehicle which is believed to have been there since the mid March.

A local dog walker, who did not want to be named, said there are another two burnt out cars in the same area nearer to woods, one of which they claim has been lying there for about two years.

The burnt out van in Hunter's Hall Park, Niddrie.

Speaking to the Evening News, they said: “Hunter’s Hall is one of the favourite places to go for local dog owners. Unfortunately, some people treat it as a scrap yard and on a regular basis they dump unwanted goods in the woods. Some of them go further and set those goods on fire.

“My the biggest worry is that one day the fire will spread quickly and we will loose this place irrevocably.”

Police said they had not received any reports about the burnt out van, and were unable to find details about reports of another two nearby vehicles. They directed the Evening News to Edinburgh City Council and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) when asked who is responsible for uplifting the wreckage.

Edinburgh City Council said the process of recovering cars has been impacted by coronavirus, and that their street enforcement service will seek to fence off the vehicles to make it as safe as possible.

An old car wreck in Hunter's Hall Park.

A spokeperson for the council said: “Our Street Enforcement Service is aware of the vehicles and will progress this as soon as possible.”

SFRS was also been contacted for details about the burnt out van.