SOILED nappies and bags of dog poo are being dumped at a popular gathering spot for teenagers in a bid to warn them off.

The unusual tactic at the area known as The Jam Pot – within Lochend Woods – was revealed by police in Dunbar.

Constable Gavin Ross said: “Somebody has been disposing lots of bags of dog poo in that area, I think as a deterrent, and used nappies as well, which is not good.

“If the youths are going to go somewhere, which they are, then it is an area we could keep an eye on them.”

The officer described the area of land, off Kellie Road, and what was happening.

He said: “It is bare ground apart from the fact it is covered in broken glass. There are fallen trees lying there, which the kids use as benches.

“There are dog faeces and nappies on the benches and the floor there.

“It is 100 per cent deliberate – somebody is deterring the kids from going there.”

The police officer was not happy with the tactic being used and said it was moving the youngsters elsewhere, including to the nearby play park at Ashfield.

Reports of more than 60 youths gathering at the playpark were raised by members of the public at the town’s community and police partnership (CAPP) meetings towards the end of last year.

At that time, stories of underage drinking in the park, as well as nearby homes also being damaged, were highlighted.

PC Ross said: “We had been discouraging them from going to the playpark at Ashfield.

“It is a public area and they were drinking and it is where young children are going to play.

“If there are going to be smashed bottles, I don’t want that in a playpark.

“We have been moving them from there and explaining the reasons for it.”

Pippa Swan, chairwoman of the town’s community council, was among those at the meeting in Dunbar Police Station.

She described the dumping of nappies and dog faeces as “horrible” and said: “I think it is actually grim and I cannot really imagine what kind of mind thinks like that.

“One would have thought if there was a real anxiety about the behaviour of the children, first of all it could be reported to the police and they could come and attend to it – or if it is possible for that person to identify the children and go speak to them – but the idea that you deliberately pollute a public space seems a very, very strange unsavoury tactic.”