Angus horse rider Rosie Clarke says she was lucky to avoid a serious accident after off-road bikers spooked her horse.
The incident came as worried locals say it’s only a matter of time before bikers plaguing a Carnoustie forest injure an animal or child.
Regular users of the Millennium Forest at Pitskelly Park Woods in Carnoustie say they are also upset at the damage the bikers are causing in the area.
Rosie told The Courier: “I was riding my horse along the public core path yesterday and nearly had a very serious accident when two bikes came flying around the corner.
“The boys were very apologetic, but they shouldn’t have been there.”
Horse rider’s near miss
“The bikes have been around the area for quite a long time and haven’t really been an issue.”
Rosie says the bikers previously stuck to off-road tracks and avoided public footpaths, but they no longer do this.
She added: “On Saturday I obviously knew they were around as you can hear the noise from miles around, but I thought we’d be ok on the core path which we usually use.
“We were walking along when a bike came speeding around a corner.
“The young lad stopped and turned off his engine, but then a second bike came speeding round and my horse nearly exploded.
“The second lad wasn’t going to stop until his pal shouted at him.”
Rosie said the rider was “very polite and apologetic” but she pointed out it was illegal for them to use the core paths.
She said: “I totally get that they want to have fun, and if they are on the private land around there I don’t have a problem, but the core paths should be off limits.”
Resident: ‘It’s beyond a joke’
Another local resident, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said: “The off-road motor bikes using the fields and Millennium Forest tracks are getting beyond a joke.
“The way they are racing about, especially on the paths, makes me worry it’s only a matter of time before someone is hurt.
“Many dog walkers use these paths and my concern is that a child or a dog could be hurt.”
The resident said he was aware that there were some behaving more responsibly than others but some were behaving badly.
The forest is Angus Council’s biggest project to celebrate the new millennium and is part of the nationwide Millennium Forest for Scotland imitative.
An Angus Council spokesman said: “The incident was reported to both ourselves and the police who we understand attended to move the motorcyclists on.
“Parks officers will be attending at the woods this week to assess the damage.”
Bikers ‘will be dealt with accordingly’
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “We were called around 2.55pm on Saturday to a report of youths on dirt bikes causing a nuisance in the Pitskelly Park area of Carnoustie.
“In this instance no one has been traced.
“When those responsible are identified and traced they will be dealt with accordingly.
“This kind of behaviour causes distress in our community and can also be unsafe.
“We are aware of ongoing issues and as part of regular patrols, officers continue to attend the area.
“We would appeal to riders to seek locations specifically suited to this kind of activity so that it can be carried out in a safe environment and also ask parents to make sure youngsters are aware of the dangers.”
