SLEEPLESS nights, broken bottles and litter were a problem for residents in Gullane 50 years ago as a new phenomenon hit East Lothian. . . The Mods.

Amazing as it might seem to today’s youths, in 1967 cars and motorbikes had only just become a popular thing to own among them.

The emergence of the Mod subculture – which saw gangs of teenagers riding around on highly decorated scooters – had reached the east coast of Scotland, as they sought out seaside towns and villages to head to.

And the impact in Gullane was huge, as family outings to the beach were replaced by gangs of marauding teenagers, and local residents demanded a reduction in their rates as they dealt with the influx of young rabble-rousers.

In The Haddingtonshire Courier in 1967, a valuation appeals court heard the case of two residents who wanted a rebate because of the impact of youths on their houses.

And they claimed that teenagers had turned the village of Gullane into “something akin to Margate”, in a nod to the seaside English town which had become the site of violent clashes between rival gangs of Mods and Rockers a few years earlier.

The Haddingtonshire Courier reported in 1967 that one resident who bought his home in 1961, and spent money improving it before moving in, objected to the property’s valuation going up from £160 to £265.

He appealed because he believed the amenity of his property had been substantially reduced by the fact Gullane, primarily a golfing resort, had become a teenage rendezvous for six months of the year.

He told the appeal court: “When we went there it was a very lovely area to live in. We have a house up on the hill looking over the sea and the foreland.

“It was as one might have expected it until 1963-64, when a change became evident, mainly in the gradual increase in the number of visitors using the car park in front of my house.”

He went on to say that while Gullane residents welcomed families who wanted to picnic on the beach, they had been replaced by young people, mainly from the west coast, who had treated the area “outrageously”.

He added: For the last three summers I have spent, I don’t know how much time, clearing filth and litter from my garden.

“I’ve even seen a woman and her daughter using my cabbage patch as a toilet.

“In 1963-64 you might have said one was living in an exclusive residential area and expect to pay high rates for the amenity of the house, but this has deteriorated to a stage where it is quite impossible and we are kept awake at night by shouting and screaming from the beach.

“In the village as well there is a great amount of unsavoury activity – throwing bottles and the like.”

A second resident said houses in Gullane were depreciating because of the problems on the beach.

He said: “When we first arrived, it was mostly family outings on the beach and one was very happy to see these people there.

“But it is a very different type of crowd that has been coming over the last two or three years.”

Both men received a deduction to their rates to around £220 after making their case.