PEOPLE have been warned not to help themselves to timber which washed up on East Lothian beaches this week.

Hundreds of planks of wood have been washed ashore after  a ship lost its load in the North Sea and its cargo found its way into the Firth of Forth on Tuesday.

As the timber was spotted across the county social media was quickly awash with claims the timber was being ‘claimed’ by some locals who spotted it lying in the sand. One person said: “It was like Whisky Galore at the beach.”

However, East Lothian Council has warned people that helping themselves to the wood is a crime.

Sandy Baptie, the council's emergency planning and risk manager, said: “We would emphasise the key messages to members of the public that they should not put themselves at risk to recover any planks they find.

"The council is working with specialist teams to do this. Also, if any members of the public have recovered planks, they must report this to the Receiver of Wrecks as it is a criminal offence to keep lost cargo.”

The timber came off cargo vessel the Frisian Lady on March 2 while it was 110 nautical miles east of Souter Lighthouse, off the South Shields coast.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the timber packets had largely broken up into individual planks and were being reported to have washed up on beaches in East Lothian, the Scottish Borders and Fife.

Chief Inspector James Jones of Police Scotland appealed to people not to attempt to salvage any of the timber themselves.

He said: “Some areas of our coastline can be dangerous, with strong tides, deep water and rocky areas. Do not put yourself at risk by trying to recover any of the timber yourself – contractors who are brought in to clear the timber away have been trained to deal with such situations and have the equipment to do so, please leave it to the professionals.”

HM Coastguard had been issuing navigational safety broadcasts to warn shipping of the lost cargo after the incident, however they said aerial surveillance now indicates that most timber is no longer at sea in large concentrations and has washed ashore.

Under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, all recoveries of wreck material (which covers any timber lost from a vessel at sea) must be reported to the Receiver of Wreck. Failing to report removal of wreck to the Receiver is a criminal offence. 

Alison Kentuck, Receiver of Wreck for the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, said: “Our biggest concern is to make sure that members of the public don't put themselves at risk attempting to retrieve any timber. The timber will not be suitable for use as a building material as it's been saturated with salt water.

“It is not a case of finders’ keepers, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency is continuing to work alongside the P&I Club and the local authorities to offer support for the clean-up operations. If members of the public see any timber washed ashore, this can be reported to the Aberdeen Coastguard Operations Centre on 01224 592 334.”