Beauty spots and former industrial quarry take a 'battering' after warm weather
Litter and fires were just some of the anti-social behaviour left by visitors at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and at a former industrial quarry in Derbyshire.
Authorities in Derbyshire have once again warned visitors to stay away from Hoffman Quarry in Buxton.
It's after 'large amounts' of litter are left behind, including BBQs which caused fires.
People have continued to flock to the privately-owned site despite parking fines being handed out and the cooling weather.
The "Blue Lagoon" had deliberately been turned into a jet black lake in an attempt to keep visitors away.
People continued to swim in the water – which has a PH level similar to bleach and contains other hazards - over the past weeks.
New signage highlighting the dangers have been put up on the site.
Almost 50 fines for parking offences were issued last weekend (30 and 31 May), whilst two vehicles that were parked dangerously were seized.
Community safety partners says their message is simple, the former industrial quarry is 'most definitely not a 'visitor attraction' and people should stay away for their own safety'.
In Nottinghamshire, the Wildlife Trust says it has experienced similar anti-social behaviour over the last weekend (May 30 and 31).
A viewing screen and its surrounding habitat at the Attenborough Nature Reserve were burnt down.
The Trust says these places and other attractive beauty spots have taken a battering after some lockdown rules were lifted, which coincided with the warmer weather.
These include:
Portable BBQs have caused devastating fires across wild areas
Ground-nesting birds eggs and rare plants have been disturbed and trampled by people and dogs
Antisocial behaviour – including littering, using wild places as outdoor toilets and vandalism have been widely reported
There were incidents of fires at three sites, Besthorpe Nature Reserve north of Newark, Idle Valley Nature Reserve near Retford and Attenborough Nature Reserve near Nottingham.
The fire at Idle Valley is believed to have been caused by unauthorized campers and damaged the woodland floor across an area of half an acre.
The fire at Besthorpe is thought to have been started deliberately as large quantities of fallen timber and debris washed up by floods earlier in the year had been collected and piled up.
The cause of the fire at Attenborough is not known but occurred worrying close to a wooden bird hide, which would have cost thousands of pounds to replace if the fire had spread.
At one site visitors had parked in front of gate barriers making it difficult for the team to access essential machinery.
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