An Arbroath man has spoken of his fears for local wildlife after felled trees were left blocking a river.
Ralph Coutts, who comes from the St Vigeans area, took up the issue with Angus Council following recent tree felling along the nature trail at the Brothock Burn.
The council said tree blockages, such as the one pictured right, were affecting a number of locations across Angus and they were dealing with the removal “in a systematic way across the county.”
Work is under way to improve existing river defences through Arbroath including the proposed flood protection scheme for the town.
Mr Coutts said he had contacted the council over river blockages, saying that several tree limbs had added to the blockages.
“To date no action has been taken to clear the blockages and I have thought about contacting other conservation groups.
“We very recently encountered an ecologist along this particular stretch who was monitoring wildlife species and the impact any works would have on them.”
Mr Coutts also questioned why millions are being spent on the flood protection works as he believes that simply unblocking the debris would have the desired effect.
“It seems excessive to me to be planning major flood protection works, when river management seems a cheaper alternative. Unblocking the damming effects of floating debris, felled tree limbs, old bikes and shopping trolleys would leave the course of the water free without it having to take alternative paths, causing flooding.
“Bearing in mind this forms part of the Angus Path Network and is widely advertised, you would think an element of council funding would be made available to maintain it as such.”
A spokeswoman for Angus Council said: “We recently wrote to all residents along the Brothock Water to let them know that surveys would be carried out as part of the preliminary investigations, and we will continue to communicate with them as this project progresses.
“We are aware of the tree blockages. This is an issue affecting a number of locations across Angus, and we are dealing with the removal in a systematic way across the county.”