Lunderston Bay blighted as partying teenagers leave huge mes

Around 40 youths congregated at Lunderston Bay woods and on the beach, dumping a load of rubbish including empty alcohol bottles.

The morning after, dismayed dog walkers, concerned residents and litter campaigners all joined together to condemn the selfish actions.

MP Ronnie Cowan was alerted to the mess and arrived on the beach to help clean up.

Litter left on Inverkip beach. Rodrick Macgregor, Ronnie Cowan and Vicky Cookson.

Retired engineer Rodrick Macgregor, 83, who lives at nearby Inverkip Marina, said: "I am just disgusted by the mess.

"It is sickening.

"We organise clean ups in the village and then they do this.

Litter left on Inverkip beach.

"This is the generation who are supposed to care about the environment and climate change.

"Yet they just dump all that rubbish just lying there.

"It is their country and it is their future, it is their generation who should be most concerned about the environment.

"Instead they just leave it all behind and let people our age clean it all up."

Fellow Inverkip resident Helen Stevenson was angered by the mess.

The pensioner told the Tele: "I just took part in my first litter pick the other week - we all care about our community and we want to keep it lovely.

"Why are young people doing this?"

Litter left on Inverkip beach.

Litter campaigner Vicky-Cookson, of the Clean Cut Crew, joined MP Mr Cowan on the beach to start the clean up.

She said: "I was almost left speechless by the mess.

"The young people doing this know the impact of climate change and what happens if they leave plastic bottles lying on a beach - the tide comes in, the plastic washes out to the sea and it harms the animals.

"Eighty per cent of what ends up in the sea is from the land.

"We need to stop it.

"We want everyone to care."

MP Mr Cowan said that the Clean Cut Crew were concentrating all their efforts cleaning up Inverkip Beach, but at a cost.

He said: "If we leave Overton, it will just be as bad.

Litter left on Inverkip beach.

"It is a mess, but it is a minority of young people who do this.

"We are getting more and more young people out on our litter clean-ups.

"It is great to see people coming along to get this cleaned up."

The group cleaning up the beach grew as more people stopped to help while out walking.

A 20-year-old dog walker, who found a bag and was the first to start cleaning up, said: "I love coming here from Largs to walk my dog.

"We all used to go to the beach with our friends when we finished school but we always took a bag and we picked up our rubbish before we left."