WILD campers defecating on Aberdour's Silver Sands beach has been the "final straw" for residents who are sick of cleaning up after holiday-makers.

Despite Fife Council stepping up patrols in the area, villagers have said that they are still filling bin bags with rubbish, as well as finding human waste at the beauty spot, and have called for changes to be made.

Susan Mathieson gained support from more than 100 other disappointed visitors after posting on social media that she had collected an "astounding" amount of litter on Friday morning.

"This morning I filled a bin bag with rubbish collected from the railway bridge footpath across the playing field and the field parking area, this was before I even reached the beach," her post read.

"The amount of rubbish is astounding and still hadn’t been collected by the council when I left the beach at 10.30.

"Everywhere is scorched by barbecues and the beach is covered in charcoal where people have built fires.

"The woods and the tree areas are full of toilet paper and on my early-morning runs I regularly see campers emerging from the woods with their rolls."

She also updated the page on Saturday saying that she had come face-to-face with one man who was "doing the toilet squatting on the beach".

"I made him lift it and take it away," she wrote.

The post led calls for more to be done as she says the number of campervans and tents have been increasing in the area, suggesting "a toilet for 24-hour use, dedicated BBQ areas to stop the burning of everything, bigger bins and proper marked-out areas for the tents and the vans".

It also urged authorities to start charging visitors to park overnight.

Councillor David Barratt, who represents the Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay ward, confirmed that the issue had been discussed at the previous community council meeting where the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust were in attendance.

He wrote: "I am pursuing this and trying to force the council to have a joined-up strategy for delivering these facilities at Silver Sands by next summer.

"I've been trying to get things moving for a couple years on this but have been a bit frustrated by the siloed approach the council often operates in. I do get the sense I'm beginning to get somewhere now."

Tricia Spacey, Safer Communities team manager, told the Press that the behaviour of "inappropriate" campers was "totally unacceptable" and urged residents to report incidences of defecating to the police.

She said: "We’re aware of the issues with inappropriate camping, overnight campervan parking and littering at Silver Sands.

"The behaviour of some of the people is totally unacceptable. Residents should not be subjected to this.

"We’ve already stepped up our patrols in the area and are currently working with our local police colleagues as well as the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust.

"Although we were able to keep the public toilets open for longer at the weekend, Silver Sands is not a designated camping area so doesn’t have adequate facilities for this activity.

"We would encourage anyone who would like to camp to find somewhere more suitable and to follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, which can be found at www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot

"If anyone sees someone defecating on or near the beach, they should report it to the Police Scotland on 101 as this is a criminal offence."