The National Trust is urging people to take their litter home as it struggles to keep up with demand.

Two bags filled with rubbish – including a discarded scooter – were stumbled upon near Black Huts at Roanhead at the weekend.

A member of the public who stumbled upon the bin bags said: "My wife and I were just out for our daily exercise on Sunday and we walked down towards Black Huts, and there was dumped a load of rubbish.

"I couldn't believe it; it's a nature reserve as well.

"I don't know what the mentality is.

"We live in a beautiful place, we just seem to have a minority that dump their stuff everywhere.

The trust believes that the bags were not dumped by visitors, but are bags made up of excess rubbish found at the reserve waiting to be removed as the team battles low staff numbers.

The bins at the site are usually emptied every Monday, although after a busy weekend they can get very full resulting in additional bags.

The team does regular checks of the site and pick up any litter not placed in bins.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “Our outdoor teams are working incredibly hard to keep our places open, safe and clean – but we ask that people enjoying these spaces help us to keep them that way.

“We empty bins and pick up litter as often as we can but are currently operating with fewer staff than normal.

"We would urge everyone who visits our sites to take their litter home with them.

"Dropping litter or using already full bins puts extra pressure on our staff and local authorities at a time when resources are stretched.”