Residents who live near Dovestone Reservoir have hit out after pictures revealed the level of rubbish left there.
The waste, left at the nature reserve over the weekend, also included a disposable barbecue that had been left on the grass after being used.
A disposable barbecue left at Dovestone (Image: James Molloy)
The ground under the barbecue appeared charred and burnt.
It is illegal to use a barbecue at Dovestone Reservoir and this includes campfires and stoves across the entire site, including the moors.
The ban was put in place to help tackle the repeated moor fires, which are largely caused by barbecues.
Takeaway food left at Dovestone (Image: James Molloy)
The pictures, posted to a Facebook group which discusses Dovestone, by James Molloy also showed general litter left at the site, as well as abandoned tents.
One image showed a large takeaway food order which had been left discarded on a bench, with around 10 bags of food left.
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They also showed litter left by the side of an overflowing bin, which displayed a sign that asked people to take their rubbish with them if the bin was full.
The rubbish was collected and filled at least five bin bags.
Rubbish left at Dovestone collected (Image: James Molloy)
Residents commented on the post to express upset at the behaviour, with one person labelling it 'absolutely disgusting'.
One man said: "I don't get it. If you can carry it in, you can carry it back out.
Rubbish left at Dovestone (Image: James Molloy)
"If you're such a rodent that you don't care about leaving your s**t where you sit, why bother going somewhere beautiful?"
Mr Molloy, who collected the rubbish and does so frequently, explained he has already removed four abandoned tents so far this year.
Tents left at Dovestone (Image: James Molloy)
He said: "The problem is only caused by a small minority, and the majority of people don’t see what the rest of us see, because it’s already been cleared away.
"The environmental issues at Dovestone aren’t a new problem.
"All I’ve done is upload some pictures that I’ve come across and litter picked and highlighted some who lack basic common sense when in the countryside."
Rubbish left at Dovestone (Image: James Molloy)
Last year, when launching the Be Moor Aware campaign, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue station manager Martin Cain said: "What people don't tend to realise is that by setting the barbecue alight, it creates embers, and embers when it's really, really windy can very easily get caught and blown out of the barbecue and settle into the grass.
Rubbish left at Dovestone (Image: James Molloy)
"That will set a fire, and that fire very, very quickly gets out of hand because it is forced along by wind and very dry grass and heather.
"We're seeing quite a significant increase in the number of fires, so far this year (2025), we've lost count of how many incidents we've had.
"So the big ask is that people are responsible when they come up here."
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