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Fury as chemical weedkiller used in Highland public park

The Strathpeffer Pavilion. Picture by Sandy McCook.
The Strathpeffer Pavilion. Picture by Sandy McCook.

Residents of west Highlands village are fuming after being told not to walk dogs in the park – because operators were using weed killer in the area.

The weedkiller was being used routinely around Strathpeffer Pavillion yesterday, with residents told in a series of notices to avoid the area.

A laminated letter posted around the area read: “We are carrying ground maintenance at this time, and as part of this, weed killer has been sprayed around the gardens, pathways and outside edge of the building.

“As a matter of precaution we advise residents, dog walkers and general public to seek alternative routes until these notices have been removed.”

The type of weedkiller was not specified.

Resident Joyce MacColl was unimpressed at the move, and raised safety concerns.

She said: “There is absolutely no reason for anyone to be using weedkiller around the park.

“My animals can’t run around freely anymore – and I have worries for children who play in this area. It only takes for them to rub their hands in the grass and then put them in their mouth.”

Councillor Niall MacLean, from Lochaber, has been leading a campaign to have weedkillers outlawed throughout in the council area – and has written to Scottish and UK government ministers calling for an immediate ban on the use of chemical weedkillers.

He said: “With growing scientific evidence on the toxic potential of glyphosate to humans, the environment and agriculture, I am calling on them to find a way of adapting to what we now know about the urgency of the environmental crisis – and the risk we are needlessly exposing ourselves and our children to.”