A COUNCILLOR has hit out at visitors who left Cosmeston country park in a “disgraceful” state following the Bank Holiday weekend.

Penarth councillor Lis Burnett tweeted several pictures of litter and mess left in the country park.

The pictures showed picnic tables covered in bags of rubbish, paper plates and plastic bottles strewn across the grass and overflowing bins.

The councillor said her husband Paul took the pictures on Monday morning while he was walking their dogs.

“It’s a disgraceful to see something like this,” said Cllr Burnett.

“On one picture you can see where someone set a barbecue on top of a plastic bin which completely melted it.

“It’s a huge problem because you know as soon as it is sunny you know that next morning it will be a complete mess.”

Cosmeston Lakes Country Park also has a specific conservation area, which Cllr Burnett says has also been subjected to littering.

She added: “People go into the conservation area thinking its a bit of fun and sometimes have even set up their barbecue there.

“It’s not just Penarth having these issues as it does seem to be happening elsewhere,” she added.

Cllr Burnett took the time to acknowledge the work of those who give up their spare time to help clean-up areas in and around Penarth.

“There have been a lot of people who have been going down there and litter picking and clearing up a lot of that rubbish which is really good,” she said.

“There are many groups in different areas of Penarth doing this which does alleviate some of the problems.”

However, Cllr Burnett said she is also concerned over the future of the park, as the Vale of Glamorgan Council is proposing to use several acres for campsites.

She said: “We’ve known for a long time that the council has to look at ways of raising money to support the parks and a wide variety of money raising activities have been considered.

“Deciding what is appropriate is a fine balance but keeping the land in council ownership meant any activities that proved detrimental could be stopped immediately.

“This new proposal is a major change in direction with land being handed over to private companies and closed to the public.”

Cllr Burnett has asked for the proposal to be reviewed by the Council’s Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee next week.