Angus and Mearns school leavers have been given a safety warning after a beach party went awry.
A group of former pupils from Mearns Academy in Laurencekirk hosted a party on St Cyrus beach to say goodbye to sixth year.
However the party got out of control when a crowd of uninvited guests from Montrose turned up and a fight broke out, and a bothy broken into.
It emerged that one embarrassed resident came to clear up after locals took to social media to record their disgust at mess left behind the party, by bothies on the edge of St Cyrus National Nature Reserve (NNR).
The nature site’s caretakers, Scottish Natural Heritage, have warned that interfering at Sites of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) is a crime.
The government agency added that bothy buildings on the beach are boarded up and people should not enter them on safety grounds.
Reserve manager Therese Alampo said: “We really value how involved the local community is with the nature reserve and the way they care for it – in fact, when staff checked the next day, the mess had been cleared up.
“Beach parties aren’t generally appropriate for a nature reserve (and) fortunately this type of incident is rare.
“But, like anywhere else, sometimes people behave less responsibly than we would wish.”
Police Scotland said it was looking into reports of a disturbance at the beach on July 5.
Ms Alampo said there have been other recent incidents of vandalism and broken windows at the nearby bird hide, but staff cannot be on site at all times.
She urged people to call police on the non-emergency 101 number if they see suspicious activity.
St Cyrus is one of around 50 NNRs around Scotland managed by a range of public, private, community and voluntary organisations.
SNH staff recently completed works on one of the paths, which had been closed for some time due to safety fears, and are in the process of completing works, including removal of 10 tonnes of material from the main cliff path which is prone to landslips.
