Members of staff who were working at a Scots beauty spot have been 'physically and verbally abused', according to a local council.
Stirling Council employees were working to manage overcrowding as people flocked to popular walking spots Ben A'an and Balmaha, shortly after the 'Stay Home' message changed to 'Stay Local'.
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The stay-at-home order was lifted across Scotland on Friday, allowing people to travel locally for non-essential purposes.
However, that led to overcrowding and subsequent issues with parking as the favourite spots became busy, with council staff on the receiving end of "verbal and physical abuse" from frustrated visitors.
A statement from Stirling Council read: "We've unfortunately had reports of verbal and physical abuse directed towards council staff working at the clearways at Ben A'an and at Balmaha.
"While there may be frustration for some regarding parking at some of our beauty spots as lockdown restrictions are being eased, we will not tolerate abuse of staff.
"Our teams are there to keep communities safe and do an important job.
"Please be considerate of those who are working hard to keep the public safe and #StayLocal."
Really disappointing to hear this has been happening to @StirlingCouncil
— Loch Lomond & The Trossachs (@lomondtrossachs) April 3, 2021
staff just doing their jobs. Everyone wants to enjoy the outdoors but it’s important to do so responsibly, be respectful of others & to #staylocal https://t.co/u7L8tWcck1
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs added that the behaviour was "really disappointing".
They tweeted: "Really disappointing to hear this has been happening to @StirlingCouncil staff just doing their jobs.
"Everyone wants to enjoy the outdoors but it’s important to do so responsibly, be respectful of others & to #staylocal."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We have not received any reports surrounding these incidents at this time.
"Officers will continue to work with our partners at Stirling Council and any reports of criminality will be investigated robustly."
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