Residents of Dumbarton and the Vale are being urged to stop throwing ‘inappropriate’ items down the toilet.

Environmental group, Friends of Dumbarton Foreshore, are calling on people not to dispose of wet wipes and sanitary products down the pan as they are ending up flowing into nearby rivers, and polluting greenspace areas such as Havoc Meadow and the coast around the town.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Sewage Plants weren’t built to cope with wet wipes and sanitary items being flushed - when storm-surge rains cause an overflow, these are washed into rivers. Only pee, paper and poo should be going around the bend in your loo.”

The move is part of the ‘Upstream Battle’ campaign to tackle marine litter at source - which is initially focused on the River Clyde.

Earlier this year, West Dunbartonshire Council banned the releasing of balloons from any council-run land in a bid to further to protect wildlife.

In his motion, which was tabled at a full council meeting, councillor Iain McLaren described balloon remains as “ugly litter”, saying: “All released balloons return to Earth as ugly litter that is dangerous to wildlife, in particular marine wildlife.

“Council recognises the concerns of farmers, environmentalists, biologists and animal lovers, and their work to raise awareness of and tackle this problem.”