Carnoustie teenagers have been branded “disrespectful” following two distasteful incidents in the town.
Boy racers were reported to police on Sunday for speeding round the streets and revving engines just four days after a horrific road crash that saw two teenagers sustain serious injuries.
Local residents also claim to have seen a “full-blown game of football” taking place on the town’s war memorial lawn the same day.
Councillor Brian Boyd, who reported the young drivers tearing along Links Parade from the Black Slab to Ferrier Street, said the actions showed no thought for local feeling.
He added: “This behaviour is bad enough anyway, but it is simply disrespectful at a time when two young men are lying in their hospital beds at Ninewells.
“With such a dreadful crash last week I would have thought they would have started to realise that these machines are killing tools. It was typical boy racer behaviour.
“They were revving their engines and then screaming off. It shows a complete lack of respect for the two poor guys who are critically ill.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “We received a call regarding inappropriate driving in the Links Parade area on Sunday and a driver warning was issued.”
Carnoustie 17-year-olds Ross McDonald and Gregor Brand remain in hospital following a major road traffic incident on Wednesday night.
The pair had been travelling in a Vauxhall Corsa which flipped on to its roof on the Easthaven road to the north of the town around 8pm.
The incident at the war memorial came after a new flower bed was planted there towards the end of last week.
Police confirmed that officers were called to reports of youngsters playing football but nobody was at the scene when they arrived.
Councillor Bill Bowles said there is an ongoing issue with teenagers aged around 15 to 17 abusing the site.
“I have chased them up regularly but all you get is a mouthful of abuse,” he said. “It seems there is a just a total lack of respect for what the memorial is.
“There are plenty of places to play football but it seems they want to play there. They seem to chip the ball over the flower bed from one side to another it’s just appalling.”
Public views on the youths’ behaviour have been vented via Facebook with comments including “no respect” and “shocking behaviour”.
However, some locals defended the teenagers saying they may be too young to fully understand the significance of the memorial.
An Angus Council spokeswoman said: “There has been some damage to a couple of plants at the War Memorial in Carnoustie. These plants will be replaced with some spare plants, with no additional cost to the council.”