Volunteers were left to clear up the mess after people who had been out enjoying the snow abandoned their smashed sledges on Duncan Down.

He said he had removed beer cans from the area in the wake of the disturbance on Thursday morning, but the sledges would remain until the weather changes.

City councillor Ashley Clark (Con, Gorrell) said: "It never ceases to amaze me how when people are on their way to a particular sporting endeavour they have the strength of Russian athletes to carry beer and things, but on the way back they become four-stone weaklings.

"It is a disgrace. We are blessed that we have three excellent volunteer groups and another on 52 acres across Duncan Down.

"To clear the sledges on a daily basis is a waste of effort. Everything else gets cleared daily because we have a dozen wardens and they like to keep it pristine.

"We find that it works, because people seem less inclined to throw stuff around if it's nice in the first place."

Cllr Clark said he has even trained his dog, two-year-old fox red labrador Kipling, to help when he is out helping to keep the open space clean.

Cllr Clark said: "He is trained to go into the undergrowth that I can't get into, to get plastic bottles and cans.

"When he was a puppy he wanted something to chew. I used milk cartons – I would fling them out and he would get it from the beach, and then I would put them in the bin."