Vandals have sparked an access row at a popular Perthshire playing field.
Perth and Kinross Council have locked the gates at the car park of the playing fields on Piggy Lane, Blairgowrie after thousands of pounds of damage was caused to the pitches and other facilities.
The area is the base of Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Football Club, as well as being used by dog walkers and keep fit classes.
The club’s new £70,000 changing rooms were among the vandals’ targets, with locals also reporting that joyriders were ripping up the grass surface and dog walkers were failing to pick up after their pets.
However the council’s move has sparked outrage from locals, who say they are being prevented from using a public amenity.
Unable to access the car park, motorists have also taken to parking on the track leading to the site, resulting in difficulty for other motorists driving along the route.
Local councillor Bob Ellis hit out at those causing the damage.
He said: “it is a real shame that once more mindless individuals are spoiling something that has been provides both by the council and a local sports organisation.
“To prevent this kind of mindless vandalism the council, along with local footballing clubs decided to close and lock the gates in order to prevent the cars and their drivers from causing more damage.
“However I have had several complains from constituents about not being able to park their cars and park properly in the car park in order to take exercise with or without their dogs.
“I have now contacted and officer within the council and a representative from the footballing community to have a site meeting to see if we can get the whole issue resolved as quickly as possible.”
A spokeswoman for Perth and Kinross Council confirmed they had taken the action to prevent vandalism.
She said: “The playing fields at Piggy Lane have regrettably been subject to repeated damage due to irresponsible people deliberately driving onto the pitches directly from the car park.
“If the individuals who choose to damage the pitches by driving on them could be identified by the community and be reported to the police, the problem may be resolved and the gates could be permanently reopened.
“In the meantime, there are no obstructions to pedestrian access to the Piggy Lane site.”
