A man has been charged for contaminating a stream on an island in the Outer Hebrides with human waste.
Police Scotland said they were called to a report of a campervan’s toilet waste being emptied near Castlebay on the Isle of Barra on Saturday (May 6) morning.
A 67-year-old man was charged for allegedly emptying a van’s toilet cassette.
A full report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.
The force issued a statement: “A man (67) has been charged after a stream near Castlebay on the Isle of Barra was contaminated with human waste from a campervan.
“We received a report of the van’s toilet cassette being emptied around 10.30am on Saturday, April 29.”
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2 comments
I absolutely do not condone the behaviour of this man, but can I point out that this is what the water companies are doing daily, on a considerably larger scale, seemingly with impunity?
For example, in 2022, raw sewage was pumped into rivers and seas for 1.75 million hours, on average 825 times per day. Source https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-62631320
I would like to see similarly stern action taken against these polluters.
The Rivers Trust has an interactive map to track these discharges and inform water users if/when it is safe to swim or participate in watersports in hundreds of locations around the UK.
There are also links through which you can take action against this appalling practice, such as contacting your MP.
https://theriverstrust.org/key-issues/sewage-in-rivers
Agree entirely that there is a broader and more widespread problem. However the implications of this specific case referred to in the article are potentially serious for continued tolerance for wild camping throughout the UK . This is yet another example of a minority ruining it for those who respect the rights and wrongs of wild camping. Apparently in Wales for example many of the usual overnight spots are now prohibiting overnighting. A case of you reap what you sow.