Anti-social teenagers are being blamed for an upturn in summer incidents at Lunan Bay.
The beach between Arbroath and Montrose is one of Tayside’s most popular.
But it’s also been a hotspot for wild camping and gatherings of youngsters which have left a scar on the beauty spot.
The latest led to woods near the estuary on the north side of Lunan Bay being trashed this week.
The ground was torched and the area left littered with rubbish including drink cans and bottles.
And it’s strengthened Lunan Bay Communities Partnership’s determination to see rangers re-introduced to the area.
The partnership was set up to help protect the area and encourage visitors to be responsible.
And in 2021 the group secured funding to create Scotland’s first community-led ranger service.
But it was a temporary set-up so they now want to bring it back to help stem the tide of anti-social incidents.
Beach fans fury over Lunan Bay damage
Jillian McEwan of the partnership said regular Lunan Bay visitors had been angered by the damage that’s been done during the summer months.
“Things calmed down in 2023, but the lack of ranger presence means we’re now seeing these type of issues rear their head again,” she said.
“We have had problems with wild campers.
“But the feeling among visitors and some of the other trustees is that there’s definitely more unsupervised youths coming down in the evenings.
Jillian added: “Lunan Bay is unusual as it’s not managed by conservation bodies such as NatureScot. And Angus Council only lease the car park and manage the refuse collection.
“So it’s really down to the community and landowners to protect Lunan Bay from these antisocial behaviours.”
The partnership is stepping up moves to re-introduce the rangers and has submitted several funding applications.
It also hopes to create a community engagement officer role to develop the initiative.
“The rangers brought much more than just engaging with visitors on the beach,” said Jillian.
“There was a lot that came out if it, and they were doing family events and outreach work in the schools.
“There are a lot of people who want to contribute to the protection of Lunan Bay.
“We hope to give the public more opportunities to do that. Part of that is the long-term funding we are working towards.
“It’s down to users and the community to look after Lunan Bay or it will just get trashed – as we have seen.”
Conversation