A Richmond resident is hitting out after coming across the smoldering remnants of a boozy campfire in the middle of a wooded area on the West Dike Trail.

The man, who only wanted to give his first name, Martin, smelled smoke while out walking on the dike Monday morning.

article continues below

His nose eventually took him to the small forest of trees about 200 metres north of Blundell Road.

It was there that Martin, to his disgust, found smoke still emanating from a campfire that was surrounded by dozens of empty beer cans.

“There it was. A campfire, still burning, with lots of make-shift seats, in the middle of the woods!” Martin told the Richmond News.

“Clearly there have been a few parties or something going on at night; with very little social distancing I’d imagine?

“It’s bad enough that they are not following the rules (during the pandemic) about keeping a safe distance, but do they have to burn the place down as well?

“And why can’t they take their beer cans with them and put them in the trash can right there?”

Martin said he quickly covered up the fire with some large stones that were sitting nearby.

“I called the police and let them know. Hopefully they might send a patrol or two up this way,” he added.

Martin, who walks the dike almost every day, said he’s also noticed a massive spike in discarded tissue paper along the trail.

“What are people thinking? Why can’t they take their trash with them?” he said, noting they’ve likely sneezed into the tissue.