FIRST Minister Nicola sturgeon has repeated the message for the public to abide by lockdown measures, as the A82 and train services were reportedly packed over the weekend.

A combination of good weather and a relaxation of lockdown rules saw beauty spots Luss and Balloch heaving with visitors who had travelled from far outwith the area.

Several reports highlighted that train services from Glasgow to Balloch were packed full of people and that social distancing measures on board were not met.

Luss experienced a huge influx of travellers despite the public toilets and car parks remaining closed.

And before the weekend, Loch Lomond National Park warned people not to travel to the area.

Speaking during the daily Covid-19 update on Monday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “There were clearly cases where, despite the guidance we have issued, people were driving more than 5 miles to beauty spots. In some cases, people were staying overnight in tents, caravans or motorhomes.

“Some of the early statistics we have from Transport Scotland are especially concerning.

“Overall, transport yesterday was 70% up from the previous Sunday. Transport on Saturday was 60% up on the week before.

“In some places - like Loch Lomond and Glencoe for example - the increase was even more dramatic.

“On Saturday, on the A82 by Loch Lomond, traffic was around 3 times higher than the previous Saturday. We saw a similar picture around Glencoe.

“I’m going to be blunt here - it is very hard to see how all of that can have been caused by local residents, or by people travelling a reasonable distance to meet loved ones.

“If there is continued evidence of even a minority not abiding by those guidelines and travelling unnecessarily – if people meet up in larger groups or make journeys which risk spreading the virus – we will have to put those restrictions, on group size and travel distance, into law.”

Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton MSP and Scottish labour Deputy Leader, added “It was disappointing to see that places like Luss and Balloch were absolutely heaving with visitors over the weekend. There seemed to be very little effort to meet the advised social distancing guidelines and it was clear that people had travelled from far out with the area.”