A MEETING has been held between those in the Aberdour community to discuss the recent incidents of anti-social behaviour.

Melanie Ward MP met with the Police, Iain Fleming, chair of Aberdour Community Council, and others to discuss their concerns over recent incidents.

As previously reported in the Press, human faeces was found throughout the village.

It was found at Black Sands Beach, behind the tennis club, and in residents’ gardens.

Other incidents include an attack on a girl at the railway station, property damage at the harbour, a girl sustaining a head injury after excessive alcohol consumption, and vandalism to a bench and the toilets at Shore Road Play Park.

The meeting comes after 180 residents signed an open letter to Melanie Ward, Annabelle Ewing and local councillors, highlighting the incidents.

READ MORE: Aberdour residents’ call for help over anti-social behaviour

Iain Fleming told the Press: “This year, Black Sands was definitely very much more a focus for visitors this year. Black Sands has next to zero facilities by comparison to Silver Sands.

“It cannot manage the sort of volume of people that would be using Black Sands.

“Many residents are trying to address that with people that are visiting, asking them to clean up after themselves and not use their gardens as toilets etc, and that led to conflict in some areas.

“It was a challenging year from that perspective, with more people using Black Sands than Silver Sands for recreation.

“We are very much aware of the impact of this, it’s such a seasonal sort of issue.”

Iain added that Melanie’s involvement was “welcome” and praised the work of the Police in responding to these incidents when they can.

He added: “Their task is extremely difficult. It’s not the police’s fault this is going ahead, they will try their best to respond when they can.

“We are very aware it’s a seasonal issue. That’s not to down any of the reports of anything that has happened this year.

“It’s glacial but we are making progress.”

READ MORE: Sounds good to me as the Tuesday music group returns

Inspector Cheryl Young said: “We are aware of the adverse impact that antisocial behaviour has on our local communities, and we have been working with our partners including the local authority to tackle this issue and take action against those responsible.

“The local policing team have been monitoring the area and carrying out high-visibility patrols as well as engaging with young people to remind them of the consequences of antisocial behaviour and other criminality.

“We recently met with partners and local community representatives to provide an update on what we have experienced over the last few months and how we can use this information to enhance intervention and planning in the run up to next summer.”

Mike Collins, safer communities lead officer, said: "Anti-social behaviour of any kind is unacceptable and a blight on our communities. We're aware incidents of in Aberdour and continue to patrol in the area.  

"We'll work with the police to address these concerns and anyone with any information about anti-social behaviour, or who wants to report an incident, should contact the police by calling 101"

Melanie Ward MP said: “It was important to hear first-hand the impact that this unacceptable anti-social behaviour has had on some of the Aberdour residents most affected.

"We had a productive meeting which included the Police and Iain Fleming, the Chair of Aberdour Community Council, who does important work.

“I also had a separate meeting with Inspector Cheryl Young, who has overall responsibility for the Police in the area, to discuss this and other issues.

"She outlined a number of welcome steps that her team will now take in an effort to get on top of the problem going forwards, including working with local schools; increased planning and visibility; and looking at physical infrastructure changes that should make a difference.

“I would emphasise the importance of local people reporting instances of anti-social behaviour, including those which are not a 999 emergency. Doing this through the 101 online form takes only a couple of minutes and really matters because it impacts on future division of resources.

“I am also writing to the Scottish Government about their overall plans to tackle anti-social behaviour across the constituency.”