Edinburgh much-loved beauty spots took a bit of a hammering over the weekend

Edinburgh's highly-praised beauty spots were left looking less than glamorous after thousands of residents and tourists made the most of their splendour over the scorching Bank Holiday weekend.

Portobello Beach and Princes Street Gardens were just two of the Edinburgh beauty spots that were hit by thousands of sun-worshippers over the Bank Holiday as temperatures soared to a whopping 23C.

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Litter at the side of the road

And you could tell they had been.

One resident, who lives across the road from Leith Links, told the Evening News: "On the Friday of the Bank Holiday there were hundreds of people out on the Links, but the next morning you would have never known.

"As the weekend went on, it seemed to get worse and worse. One morning I took the dog down for a walk and there were circles of rubbish that had just been left. It was a shame.

Princes Street.

"It has all been cleared now."

One person, who didn't want to be named, wrote on Twitter: "All bins along Princes Street are overflowing with rubbish. Rats and seagulls and doves have a party over last few days."

They added: "God knows what tourists must think."

Vice Convener of Transport and Environment Cllr Karen Doran said: "We shouldn’t be having to clear nearly four tonnes of litter – the same weight as an Indian elephant! - from the grass on the Meadows the morning after a sunny day.

Portobello Beach. PIC: @share_sare

"If we want everyone to get the best of Edinburgh, to enjoy its fabulous parks and reap the physical and mental health benefits of time spent in urban greenspaces, then we all have to treat our parks with care and respect, leaving them as spotless as we’d expect to find them.

"Edinburgh is one of the world’s most beautiful and greenest cities. She deserves to be properly looked after – so let’s keep up the good work."

Councillor Lesley Macinnes, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “It’s always great to see our beautiful parks and beaches full of people enjoying the sunshine, but what’s not so great is the amount of litter left behind. If you’re having a picnic, please make sure you use the litter bins provided – or, if they’re already full, take your rubbish away home with you. And BBQs must be fully cooled or extinguished before you bin them so that we can avoid the kind of fire damage we saw at Bruntsfield Links yesterday (Easter Monday).

Portobello Beach. PIC: @share_sare

“Lots of communities across the city are pitching in and arranging clean-ups of their local areas, which really helps boost the Council’s £10m-a-year work to keep the Capital clean. However, if more people binned their litter properly in the first place, the city would be a much nicer place for everyone.”