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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Iuliia Vlasova

Edinburgh dog walker's wildlife fears after rumbling teens setting fires in park

An Edinburgh resident fears devastating consequences as "young lads" repeatedly come to the same area of the city to "play with fire".

The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, shared her concerns with the Facebook community after witnessing a fire underway near Drumbrae Leasure Centre in Clermiston.

After witnessing one fire in the area while walking her dogs on Saturday (August 13) the woman was back at the scene the following day to discover there had been another attempt to light the fire near the popular leisure centre.

READ MORE: More than half of Edinburgh locals object to 'Spaces for People' measures

The woman said: "I didn't see anyone leaving the scene but was told by another dog walker there had been two young lads on bikes heading away from it when it happened.

"I went up again yesterday and there was another patch of dry grass burned out. There is also a burned-out section on the left of the car park entrance of the leisure centre, which was done over a week ago.

"I also heard the same two lads were trying to burn bottles in Clermiston Park. With the dry weather, things could have escalated, and the wooded areas could have gone up in flames quite quickly!"

Voicing her concerns in a Facebook post, the local woman quickly got support from the community. Another social media user confirmed that the issue is reoccurring and demands attention. She claimed to have had to put out two fires herself after spotting four young people walking away from the woods laughing about it.

In the recent days - and weeks - Edinburgh was subjected to extremely dry and hot weather, making the risk of fire more significant.

Attempting to educate people on responsible use of outdoor spaces, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service published relevant advice here.

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