VISITORS to a popular tourist site are being urged to respect its beauty and take their litter home.

Cod Beck reservoir, near Osmotherley, North Yorkshire, attracts thousands of people every week, who visit for the scenery, to enjoy a country walk or have a picnic.

But visitors are leaving rubbish, camping illegally and causing traffic problems.

Community safety officers are determined to stamp out the problems.

Since a ban was imposed on parking on a two-mile stretch of the road and verge alongside Cod Beck last year, officers have been making extra patrols.

Visitors who do not use designated car parks risk being given a £30 fine.

However, while logs around the car parks have prevented campers getting near their campsites, they have not deterred camping.

During the Bank Holiday earlier this month, officers had to deal with several cases of illegal campsites and collected bags of rubbish.

A spokeswoman said: "These people are turning a natural beauty spot into an eyesore.

"Littering is a huge problem here. Because it is a national park, there are no rubbish bins -people must take it home.

"Camping is not permitted along the banks of the stream or around the reservoir, but people still flout the law.

"They light campfires with wood taken from the forests. Earlier this month, we even had examples of trees being felled to fuel these fires.

"Cod Beck cannot take this type of sustained abuse -a few people are going to spoil a picturesque area enjoyed by the masses."