Forres Community Woodlands Trust asks for visitors to respect local beauty spots

A GROUP responsible for local woodlands has thanked volunteers for clearing up up a dangerous mess dumped at a popular meeting place.

Jim and Emma Lane, and fellow volunteer Linda Mackie, were shocked by a picture on social media of a large pile of broken glass left by drinkers outside the mountain bike trails hut at Sanquhar woods.

Jim said: "It made me angry that people are so irresponsible and don't seem to care what potential damage could be caused to anyone or animals.

"The fact is that the glass had been taken there full of alcohol so why didn't they take it home when it weighed much less empty?"

The Lanes travelled to Sanquhar from their home in Dyke where they were met by Linda who helped them dispose of the debris.

"Luckily I have plenty of plastic tubs so we used one and a basket lined with bin bags," said Jim. "It took us around 30 minutes to clear everything up."

The trio were thanked by Forres Communuity Woodlands Trust (FCWT), who are responsible for the area. Jim plans on helping FCWT in future to ensure the woods are safe for everyone.

FCWT chairman Frank Wright confirmed the bike trails shed is a popular venue for partying youngsters.

He said: "It has been ever since it was built and it has become more so since the bird hide at Chapleton was burned down. Our members and volunteers regularly clear up the after party debris which usually includes broken glass. We’ve also had a Forres Academy group do a volunteer clean-up.

"I went up there to clean up having been alerted to the latest mess and was pleasantly surprised to find that Jim Lane had beaten me to it. We are grateful for his help."

FCWT has spent a lot of time and money on maintaining the shed which gets regularly vandalised - FCTW used materials donated by Keith Builders on the last occasion.

However, since then further damage has occurred and there are more repairs pending which will make use of materials donated by Moray Estates.

FCWT added that Forres Academy school group has painted the shelter with 'vandal-proof' paint and walkers often take waste bags to pick up rubbish when in the woods.

Mr Wright said: "It has been mooted that the shelter should be dismantled but that would disadvantage the mountain bikers for whom the hut was originally intended.

"Apart from the bike shed issue, Sanquhar is left in fairly good condition given the many users. We’ve had a couple of camp fire incidents which required fire brigade intervention and we get occasional illegal motor bikers. Other than that our users respect and appreciate the woodlands."

FCWT also own and maintain the Muiry and Newforres woods and car parks which are regularly used by dog walkers. The car parks are equipped with litter bins serviced by volunteers.

"There have been issues with the car parks, said Mr Wright, "most notable being when they were occupied by travellers for about a year.

"Ever since the brown bin charge was introduced, garden waste dumping in both car parks has escalated. We also suffer from the regular dumping of large amounts of domestic waste. Clearing up the debris is left to our volunteers."

FCWT volunteers maintain the woodlands and bike track, and are always on the lookout for new members. To join costs just £12 per family.

See http://forrescommunitywoodlands.org/ for more information.