MORE than a hundred people delivered a petition to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday as the group “Let’s save Govanhill” took to the streets of South Glasgow.

Residents have complained of continued illegal dumping and crime in the Govanhill area and are calling on Glasgow City Council to invest more money and resources into the clean-up project.

Families and residents of all ages were present for what was the group’s first protest. One sign directed at the council, Police Scotland and Govanhill Housing read “Embarrassed Yet?”.

The march took the colourful and noisy protestors past the constituency office of Ms Sturgeon who came out to meet and speak to those in attendance.

The First Minister said that “there are things changing” adding that there is now a lot of investment in the area but that “we have to keep things moving”.

Local Council authorities have said they have been allocating “substantial” funding to combat the issue of fly tipping in the area.

But one of the organisers of the march, Liz Crosbie, said conditions in the area could be very bad. “People are finding rats in their house. My sister finds mice in the house and thinks that’s a normal occurrence,” she said. A spokesman from Glasgow Council said: “The area is monitored as we strive to reduce the problem that local residents cause.”

Chief Inspector Carole McGuire of Police Scotland said: “We use several tactics to combat these issues, such as high visibility patrols, stop and searches and targeting known offenders.”