Tourists in Highland Perthshire have continued to ignore parking and camping restrictions as residents described the scenes around Loch Tay this weekend as “chaos”.
Dozens of cars were pictured parked along streets and on grass verges on Saturday while locals also documented people violating no overnight parking and camping restrictions at Dalerb.
Highland Perthshire resident Donald Meldrum photographed vehicles at 6.30am on Sunday morning parked up in restricted areas.
He told The Courier: “I’m sympathetic to people wanting to come and enjoy our beautiful country but it’s the mess they leave that gets me.
“Saturday (was) chaos.”
The fed-up resident also took pictures of rows of cars lining roads around Loch Tay on Saturday, blocking up traffic and causing heavy congestion around the shores of Loch Tay.
Other worried Highland Perthshire residents complained of 170 vehicles parked along Foss Road on Saturday while another photographed tents set up in a field clearly signposted with “Livestock in field, no camping”.
The latest flouting of the restrictions comes a week after motorists were pictured abandoning their directly in front of no parking signs at Schiehallion.
Angry residents have also penned a 1,600-word letter calling on tourists and campers to respect their scenery while politicians met with local to discuss their ongoing concerns.
Highland Perthshire SNP councillor Mike Williamson believes there needs to be a “long-term solution” to the problem.
He said: “It is absolutely clear that the current situation is not acceptable.
“To that end, I will continue to advocate for common sense solutions that balance the rights of people to come and enjoy Perthshire with the rights of local residents to live their lives free from fear and disturbance.”
His party colleague, Pete Wishart MP, said: “We are seeing significant problems at places like Loch Rannoch, Loch Tummel and Clunie Loch.
“Issues include abandoned cars, pollution caused by incorrect disposal of human waste and people choosing to just abandon camping equipment rather than bother to take it home with them.
“There is no silver bullet to resolve this issue, but I am quietly confident that they work we have started in coordinating a multi-agency approach will have a significant impact.”
