A popular Cardiff park was left strewn with litter on Thursday morning after a spell of warm weather saw people flock outside. Bins in Pontcanna Fields were seen overflowing and surrounded by mess, including beer bottles and disposable barbecues.
The litter is a big concern for Gloria Garrington, the assistant manager of Cardiff Riding School, which is located in the parkland. Having worked there for 45 years, Gloria said it was an "ongoing problem" that gets worse in the summer and her staff have to spend a lot of time picking up rubbish dumped on their land.
"Our concern is the horses. We went out the other day to find drinking glasses in the horses' field. We find people have made barbecue fires in our field, and general rubbish is always getting thrown over [our fences]," she said. You can read all our Cardiff stories here.
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"It can damage the horses. If a horse treads on glass, it can completely wreck its foot. The other problem is, horses will pick up and try and chew stuff. People have lost horses by that kind of thing - plastic bags and stuff."
Gloria added that people often break up the fences enclosing the horses' field and she believes they use them for their barbecue fires. "I presume that's what they do, because you see evidence sometimes of fires," she said, adding that she and her staff have to check the rails every day.
"Usually, when they go out and check the fencing, they'll come back with [some rubbish] they've picked up, if not lots that they've picked up." The mess is a familiar sight for residents in the area. Earlier this year, people living in Pontcanna and nearby Canton said littering had worsened since the start of the year, with dog mess bags, cans and bottles left on the pavements and in parks.
Speaking to WalesOnline in March, they said that littering often spikes following collection days or warmer weather. “It’s terrible. It’s been getting worse and worse in Pontcanna for years now," said one resident who lives in Pontcanna. "I’ve lived and worked across a number of places in England and Wales and Cardiff is probably the dirtiest city I’ve spent time in sadly.”
A council spokesperson said: “Warm weather naturally brings more visitors to our parks and we ask people to take responsibility for their own waste when visiting Cardiff’s parks and open spaces. Leaving litter behind in our parks, ruining them for others, and expecting somebody else to clear up the mess is simply not acceptable. Our hard working staff visit the parks every morning to empty the bins and clear litter. If the litter bins are full, please take your litter home with you and dispose of it correctly.”
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