Anti-social behaviour, especially littering, vandalism and graffiti, can often increase during this time of year.

It blights our streets, parks, and open spaces, making them unpleasant for us to be in and, in some cases, dangerous to people and animals.

The council is keen to work alongside and support local communities with a clear message – respect your surroundings and your neighbours and tell us about those who don’t.

Councillor Davie McLachlan, Chair of the Housing and Technical Resources Committee which oversees the councils anti-social behaviour work, said: “These summer months, when schools are on holiday and we enjoy warmer, longer days, inevitably mean more of us are enjoying being outdoors.

“If – as most of us do – we all treat the places where we live and get together as important and to be taken care of, it makes a genuine difference to the entire community.”

Councillor Robert Brown is the chair of the Community and Enterprise Resources Committee and so has a good overview of the value of South Lanarkshire’s open areas.

He said: “We have so many fantastic local parks, streetscapes and open spaces in South Lanarkshire that are enjoyed with real respect by the majority of people, so let’s continue to do that over the summer and work together to call out the minority who don’t.”

There are a number of simple and easy things we can do to play our own part in keeping our communities clean and safe this summer, such as:

• if you are eating in a park or a green space, dispose of rubbish in the bin or take it home if bins are full;
• don’t drop litter;
• never leave broken glass behind – this can cause injury to others, and particularly to children and animals;
• look after public and shared amenities – for example, vandalising play equipment means that young people can’t play safely, while damaging benches could prevent friends and families from sitting down together for a chat or enjoying some fresh air and rest in our open spaces;
• dispose of materials such as barbeques very carefully to protect our countryside, because the impact of fires in the open can be devastating for communities, wildlife, and farmland.

Councillor McLachlan added: “These are our communities, our people and our spaces, so let’s all protect and enjoy South Lanarkshire together.”

Anti-social behaviour issues such as litter, graffiti and vandalism can be reported directly to the council’s dedicated team on 0800 389 1105 or by email. Alternatively, for criminality, contact Police Scotland on 101 or, in an emergency, call 999.