"Irresponsible campers" were discovered by county rangers over the weekend, with emergency services called to an East Lothian beauty spot. 

Emergency services attended an incident at Aberlady Nature Reserve after fires were started by campers on Saturday. 

Police Scotland attended the fires at the reserve after reports of blazes reached them at 7.10pm on June 15. 

One appliance from the fire service was also present at the reserve, with investigations undertaken at the time. 

A passerby said: "It is a real shame that people decide to do this here, the nature reserve is a pristine part of East Lothian's nature and environment. 

"There are places up and down the county's beaches that people are allowed to camp and start fires. They need to be more responsible and be careful. 

"It really doesn't take too long to look up online where you can have a fire, Police Scotland and the fire service shouldn't have to waste their time on selfish people." 

The SFRS confirmed to the East Lothian Courier that they attended the incident and before they attended, a fire on the beach was extinguished, with a number of others put out previous to that. 

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 7.10pm on Saturday, 15 June, 2024, officers received a report of fires being set at a nature reserve in Aberlady.

“Enquiries are ongoing.”

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “Irresponsible camping was sadly discovered at the weekend by Countryside Rangers at key sites along the coast. We would remind the public that camping isn’t permitted if it involves:

  • camping from a vehicle (overnight parking is not permitted in our countryside car parks)
  • lighting irresponsible fires
  • littering or irresponsible toileting
  • family tents/gazebos
  • large groups

“East Lothian has a variety of fantastic camp sites, many of which are a stone’s throw from our best countryside and beaches which have toilet and shower facilities. A full list can be found here:
Caravan & Camping | Visit East Lothian

“Please help us protect the amazing variety of habitats which our Countryside team and others work hard to protect and enhance. We will continue to promote the importance of responsible use of our countryside sites for the benefit of the natural environment and everyone’s enjoyment.”