Boats warned 'avoid this area' after Asda trolleys thrown in the river

Having previously pulled 52 trolleys out of the waterway in one day, John Hainey has been campaigning for change to the 'disgraceful' conditions.

He even says he has heard rumours that barge owners are being told to 'avoid Clydebank' because of the state of the dumping.

Councillor Sophie Traynor (left) and John Hainey (right) (Image: Newsquest) Speaking to the Glasgow Times, he said: "There are vandals who take joined-up trolleys, three or four at a time, and fly them down the wee bit into the water.

"The problem is this vandalism must be exciting for the kids to push them into the canal.

"I had heard a rumour that these barges and boats passing up down the Forth and Clyde were told to avoid Clydebank because if you go to pull in you'll wreck the bottom of your boat, maybe even your engine on these trolleys, but nobody would confirm this.

"It's plain to see that there would be difficulties for boats coming up and down the canal export six feet deep, all it takes is two or three trolleys.

"They keep talking about mobile apps being the safest way to do it but we pull these out ourselves.

"Somethings got to be done about this. Every little helps."

Shocking images were taken in 2023 when John was part of a feat to remove more than 50 from the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Councillor Sophie Traynor called for a recent meeting with representatives from Asda and Scottish Canals.

It is believed only an Asda representative turned up.

Speaking of the meeting, Sophie said: "Over the last few months, I have been working with local residents who have raised a number of concerns over the current state of the canal, with a specific focus on abandoned trolleys.

"This is a particularly problematic issue for Linnvale and the town centre area. As a result, I decided to host a roundtable meeting involving residents and a range of partners to properly discuss this matter.

"It’s through this kind of joint working that we can look to make a long-term difference in this matter. I will continue to monitor the situation and push results on this matter going forward.”

Asda previously launched the Collex App where residents can report abandoned trolleys to the service which aims to collect them 'as soon as possible'.

An Asda spokesperson said: “While we know that most of our customers take care of our trolleys, having a trolley collection partner helps to minimise the chance of our trolleys being taken away from our store and abandoned.

“We would encourage anybody that spots one where it shouldn’t be, to let us know by calling 0800 1860 600, emailing request@collextrolley.com, or by downloading the Collex App, so the trolley can be collected as soon as possible."

A spokesperson from Scottish Canals added: “The illegal dumping of litter and trolleys in our canals is unsightly and causes environmental risks to both canal users and wildlife as well as the unnecessary expense of removal by our waterway operatives.

“We welcome Asda taking steps to address this ongoing issue and we are grateful to the members of the public who will use the app to help tackle the problem.

“We look forward to seeing the results of this initiative in due course.”