Kirkcaldy beauty spot marred by broken drain

Users of a popular Kirkcaldy woodland area hope they can soon reclaim their beauty spot which has been polluted by raw sewage for almost a month.
Mr Murdoch and Seamus at the site of the broken drainMr Murdoch and Seamus at the site of the broken drain
Mr Murdoch and Seamus at the site of the broken drain

A dropped drain in the middle of the Rabbit Braes has seen human waste flowing through the woodland walk and into a burn. It has then been pooling in a pond several feet deep at the bottom of the hill and overflowing and running along the side of Linton Lane.

Dog walkers have had to bathe their pets after they waded through the waste, while residents say the smell has been atrocious, forcing them to keep their windown shut on warm days.

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Scottish Water was there on Tuesday, when workmen said they were creating a bypass to divert the waste away from the burn.

Ian Murdoch (71), of Raith North Lodge at the top of Rabbit Braes, takes his two dogs, Seamus, a four-year-old Irish wolfhound, and Gizmo a 10-year-old Jack Russell, for a walk through the woods twice a day and says that he has had to hose them down and bath the little one after they ran hrough the sewage.

“It is pretty disgusting and the pool of sewage at the bottom is at least a few feet deep.

“On one occasion I was walking the dogs and passed by to see a little girl paddling around in the water, which looked fairly clean, watched by her mum. When I told her it was raw sewage she was really upset and dragged her daughter away quickly.

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“This area is well used by dog walkers and children and it has been like this for about a month.

“We reported it after a few days, but today (Tuesday) is the first time I have seen anyone out, although the worst area has been cordoned off with fencing.”

James Pratt (72), from Linton Lane, said: “I was told a drain had dropped and that’s what caused it. It is going to take a while for the burn to run clean again.”

A spokesman for Scottish Water said: “Due to the woodland location, this is a complex and challenging repair. A temporary repair has been carried out and we have been carrying out clean-up work of the area affected.

“We are putting plans in place to carry out a permanent repair, and we hope to do this as quickly as possible.”