Sheffield's Crookes Valley Park party sees rubbish left behind

A park has been used as an impromptu-nightclub after hundreds of people spent hours partying, residents said.

Littering, loud music and fighting have been regular occurrences at Crookes Valley Park, Sheffield, they added.

The latest six-hour party saw people not leave the park until 05:00 BST on Monday morning, with residents saying noise in the area kept them awake.

Local Richard Ward said he had "never seen so much litter thrown in the lake" following the late-night gatherings.

"On Sunday, there was the combination of the football and it being a really lovely day so there were a lot of people in the park until late," Mr Ward said. "Some were still arriving at 23:00 with shouting, yelling and music being played until 05:00.

"There's no toilet so people use the bushes behind the houses on Harcourt Road," he added.

Mr Ward is one of several local residents who has called on the council and police to work together to stop the damage to the park, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Volunteers cleaned up litter the following morning, but one resident, who asked not to be named, said the partying was happening "most nights since the weather improved".

"The sheer quantity of rubbish and broken glass was just ridiculous," Mr Ward added.

Local councillor Angela Argenzio said people needed to be reminded to act responsibly.

"We want people to have fun but at the same time they need to be considerate of people who live in the area around our parks and to leave the green spaces clean. 

"We need more and larger bins but people must also take their rubbish home if the bins are full."

Ruth Bell, Head of Parks and Countryside at Sheffield City Council, said it was "incredibly frustrating" to see people behave irresponsibly and leave their litter.

Ms Bell added: "Piling rubbish next to a [full] bin makes the area very unpleasant for other visitors and can attract vermin. If you can carry it to the park then you can carry it home."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.