Fire engine caught in accident because of parked cars on A83

Parked cars already lined the A83 at Arrochar at 8.30 last Saturday morning.

A fire engine on a 999 call was involved in an accident because of parked cars beside Loch Long last weekend.

The incident in Arrochar was revealed amid calls for people to stay at home – and claims that part of Loch Lomondside had been ;’treated as an outside toilet’.

An ambulance could not reach children’s hospice Robin House at Balloch at the weekend, while Cllr Iain S Paterson said parked cars had caused problems on the A83 in Arrochar.

“A local fire engine on way to an incident was involved in a road traffic accident at the old torpedo range north entrance, due to badly and dangerously parked vehicles,” he said.

“This illustrates the potential grave consequences in ignoring the lockdown guidelines. Fortunately the incident that the fire service were called to was not of a serious nature, but it could have been.

“I would not like it on my conscience, as a result of my irresponsible behaviour that it cost someone their life, due to emergency services being delayed. Lockdown rules will be reinstated if people do not follow guidelines.”

He said Argyll and Bute had one of the country’s lowest Covid-19 infection rates, adding: “We would dearly want it kept that way.”

And he asked for tougher action over camping and litter byelaws: “I have asked the park authority to make this a priority, as the scenes of litter strewn everywhere were a disgrace.”

Cllr George Freeman said he visited Luss, Arrochar and Tarbet on Saturday and Sunday and ‘every spare piece of ground was taken up by parked cars’.

He added: “Most of those arriving in the Arrochar area disappeared up the hills and it was only their inconsiderate parking that caused serious problems.

“Thankfully Police Scotland did take action against these vehicle owners. At Luss, the community had the additional problem of large numbers of visitors descending on the village and using the shore as an open-air toilet.

“I have to compliment Police Scotland on having a strong presence in the area over the weekend which helped to control some of those who displayed no consideration for others.

“We saw many younger people driving round the village with loud music blaring from their cars.

“I had to be quick on Saturday to avoid being knocked down when one of these young drivers came speeding round the corner in Church Road with music blaring.”

He said a traffic management plan for Luss had been delayed for several years and was now overdue.

An Argyll and Bute Council spokesperson said: “We share the community council’s wish to improve the situation in Luss. We will take the revised traffic regulation order, as agreed with the community council, to the area committee as soon as possible.

“This would not however address all issues that arose at the weekend. We are therefore looking at what we can do in the immediate term – we will be engaging with Luss Community Council and continue to work with the national park and Police Scotland in order to best manage the issues.

“We are dedicating extra resources to Luss this weekend, by having more wardens on site, and we are asking people to stay away for now and follow the guidance.”

Gordon Watson, chief executive of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority, said: “It was extremely disappointing to see so many key visitor hotspots in the national park busy over the weekend with a significant minority of people ignoring the national guidance to stay close to home and not gather in crowded places.

“While this wasn’t happening everywhere in the national park, some places did get particularly busy and experienced some very disappointing behaviours, including littering, which is particularly upsetting for the people who live in these communities and those who are then expected to clear up afterwards.

“The guidance is clear that people should not be travelling more than five miles for recreation or exercise, and overnight stays are not yet permitted.

“National park visitor facilities remain closed and camping byelaws are still in effect in camping management zones.

“We have led an action group which has co-ordinated our partners including Police Scotland and the local authorities across the national park to put into action a joined-up approach to visitor management as restrictions begin to ease. This includes traffic management, additional barriers and signage, as well as clearing up litter.

“For now, we continue to urge people to comply with the national guidance to stay local. Life is not back to ‘normal’ yet so putting unnecessary pressure on these rural areas, particularly while many normal services are not fully operational, shows a lack of respect for the area and the people who work hard to keep the National Park safe and clean.”