Concern over anti-social behaviour at nature reserve
dailyrecord.co.ukA “hard core” of teens are behind grassland blazes at Blackmoss Nature Reserve in Armadale which police are trying to tackle along with off road bikes and other anti-social behaviour in the area.Police, fire service and local housing officers have been trying to tackle anti-social behaviour across Armadale and Blackridge, including the use of off-road bikesThe SFRS told the local area committee at its last meeting that the bulk of the 19 deliberate fires crews had attended in the last three months had been set on Blackmoss.Blackmoss is a short walk from South Street in Armadale.It is a large woodland with open meadows, popular with dog walkers and locals, but also a magnet for anti-social behaviour.A fire officer spoke to the Armadale and Blackridge local area committee about the fireraising.They said: “We are seeing it across the area and, to an extent, across the country.He added: “It’s something we are putting quite a lot of focus on, speaking to schools and speaking to individuals, getting out an about in the community to get the message across.“It also about the anti-social element that it is affecting a large number of people as well as taking up firefighting resources.”Community police Sgt Ian Wells told the committee: “We do have tried tested strategies for dealing with anti-social behaviour but there seems to be a hard core group involved in almost daily fire raising of scrubland.”“What we really need is community Intelligence coming through.“We need to know who these young people are so we can as a partnership speak to them.“We can do those interventions to highlight the dangers.”Sgt Wells said it was a “work in progress”.Officers had faced similar problems to those with the use of off road bikes, where scant
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