Rangers at Balmoral Castle, the Queen’s home in Scotland, have revealed people are using the grounds as a wild toilet, and leaving wipes near the trails.
Staff at the site, which is where the Queen and her husband Prince Philip would usually spend their summer, tweeted pictures of discarded wipes and waste next to paths on the Aberdeenshire estate.
The public toilets at the site are currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Park rangers tweeted: “Disappointed to see so many wipes discarded on the Estate today. Next to paths and monuments. Please remember there are no public toilets open for miles around at the moment.”
Toilets near Loch Muick, which are run by Aberdeenshire council, have been broken into and conditions “are becoming unsanitary” according to the estate.
The rangers also offered advice and guidance on how best to go to the toilet outside, including asking people to urinate at least 30 metres away from lochs and streams, and defecate “as far away as possible from buildings, paths, water courses and farm animals”.
The team added: “Bury faeces in a shallow hole and replace the turf.”
The rangers said the litter left behind was also a problem.
They tweeted: “Part of the problem is that we are seeing a lot of non biodegradable wipes being discarded in the countryside.
“Also, people are choosing to relieve themselves right next to busy paths or monuments rather than move a little bit further away to avoid contamination.”
Regulations in Scotland related to the coronavirus lockdown differ to England, and people are currently advised to stay within a five-mile radius of their home when taking exercise or visiting friends and family.
Local government minister Simon Clarke and environment minister Rebecca Pow have written to councils asking them to reopen public toilets.
