An Angus woman has been angered by council bin removals that have led to apparent fly-tipping on a main road.
Margaret and Drew Wilson have spent years mowing the verges at their farm on the A932 near Rescobie Loch, outside Forfar, and take pride in the presentation of their land.
Successive councils have kept two general waste bins in popular stopovers near Greenhead Farm for as long as the Wilsons and their neighbours remember.
Angus Council has removed dozens of rural bins as part of its drive to cut pick-up costs but the local authority has said it will put them back — if there is evidence of fly tipping.
However, Mrs Wilson said she is puzzled by the removal of the bins because council staff have since been out to pick up rubbish at the spot, and angry because motorists are now leaving rubbish on her land.
The concern comes after the Scottish Wildlife Trust announced fly-tippers cost them around £15,000 per year.
A rising tide of rogue dumpers are blighting Tayside and Fife with nearly 10,000 recorded incidents of fly-tipping in the past two years.
And a total of 742 tipping reports were made in Angus over the last two years, with no prosecutions.
Mrs Wilson said: “There was a bin left in the layby between Hard Muir and Greenhead road end, and there was another bin near the nature reserve at Rescobie.
“Folk are stopping at the layby, there’s no bin and they’re chucking their rubbish in the field.
“Angus Council have taken the bins away to save money emptying them.
“Since then they have had men picking litter up along the roadside, and now the rubbish is being thrown on the side of road, and into our fields.
“Surely it would be easier to empty a bin.”
An Angus Council spokesman said its monitoring revealed the bins were not being used.
“While there is no information that indicates fly-tipping is a particular issue in this area, we continue to monitor the situation and will reinstate the bins if required,” he added.
“We ask residents who witness or have information about fly-tipping incidents to contact us with any information via our website or to our ACCESSLine on 03452 777 778.”
