Cops called out to shut down party in middle of Dumfries and Galloway forest

Cops were called out to shut down a party in the middle of Ae forest in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Officers and ambulance crew rushed to the popular beauty spot after receiving reports that “a large crowd” had gathered after midnight.

Police spent several hours at the scene, with publicly available social media footage showing people dancing and even a makeshift stage.

Ae Forest is home to one of the popular 7Stanes mountain bike trails. Both Forestry and Land Scotland and Police Scotland posted on Facebook asking visitors to stay away from the trails.

But many walkers and mountain bikers were unaware of the drama that was unfolding and travelled to the woods in the glorious weather, only to be turned away at the car park by officers.

The road leading to the overflow car park was also shut off and a 4x4 event planned for the same day also had to be cancelled.

Chief Inspector Scott Young, from Dumfries Police Station, said: “Police Scotland’s approach throughout the pandemic has been to engage with the public, explain the legislation and encourage compliance but our officers will not hesitate to use our enforcement powers as a last resort.

“I want to thank those members of the public who have complied with officers.”