A DUNFERMLINE woman is angry at the number of shopping trolleys dumped along a town centre footpath.

Emma Golder walked along the path from Buffies Brae up to the St Margaret's Cave recently and spotted at least 12 trolleys which she believes have come from the nearby Tesco Fire Station store.

She wants the retailer and Fife Council to take action and get the area cleaned up – and come up with a way of stopping the trolleys from being taken away from the store.

"Me and my husband went for a wee wander and walked down Buffies Brae and followed the road down behind Rose Cottage and it goes down to where the Queen Margaret Cave is. It is overgrown but it is a walkway," she explained.

"We counted about 12 trolleys amongst other piles of garbage, including car parts. My brother had suggested we could do a clean-up but it is not safe. You can't get down to the water. It is such a shame."

Tesco said their store team had been out to investigate and had now asked their specialist contractors to remove any abandoned trolleys.

“We really don’t like to see trollies taken from our stores because we need them for our customers," said a spokesperson. "We employ a specialist company to rescue our trollies when they have been taken and we’d urge anyone who sees an abandoned Tesco trolley to let their local store know so we can get it back as soon as possible."

Gillian Taylor, community manager with Fife Council, said efforts were ongoing to resolve the situation.

“We’re working in partnership with police, the Fire & Rescue Service, local businesses and third sector organisations to tackle the difficult issues in this area," she said.

“There has been some landslip along this path and our first priority has to be people’s safety. Although we’ve previously installed fences, these have been knocked down, adding to the unsightly fly-tipping. So, as well as organising land surveys to check for subsidence, we’re trying to find solutions for a more secure fencing system.

“We know there is an unacceptable level of littering along this path and anyone caught adding to it will be fined. Unfortunately, the steep embankment makes it too dangerous for our teams to carry out a normal clear-up operation.

“Community planning partners are looking into ways of deterring anti-social behaviour and are generating ideas for a long-term solution to improve the area.”