Online posts claiming Syrian refugees are not welcome in the Western Isles have been condemned by political leaders.
Comments saying “we don’t want you here” were left on social media by the account of the Lewis & Harris branch of the Better Together campaign.
It comes just days after the latest group of families fleeing the conflict in Syria arrived to be rehoused in the Western Isles.
The comments were widely condemned – and the account has since been deleted.
The original comment, left on a link to a news article about the arrival of new refugees, read: “Do I have to be the one to say it? We don’t want you here!!!!”
Councillor Angus Campbell, leader of Western Isles Council, said the comment was “certainly not the sentiment” of people generally in the islands.
He said: “It’s very unfortunate but it seems you’ll get that kind of response from some people.
“We’ve generally had a very positive response both after the arrival of the first families and now the latest ones.
“People in the streets have been very positive and most people are very keen to make them as welcome as possible.”
He said that an appeal for volunteers to help the latest families settle in the islands had resulted in 30 volunteers coming forward in just a few days.
Mr Campbell added: “If you trace back everybody’s families then they’ve all had to arrive in the islands at some point.”
The local branch of the Labour party also hit out at the comments, saying they would “embarrass all islanders who have any compassion for fellow humans”.
The party campaigned as part of Better Together to keep Scotland in the UK – but local chairman Matt Bruce condemned what he described as “racist bullying”.
He said “It is sickening that people living on the islands are prepared to write abuse for the public to see while hiding behind fake names.
“One option when seeing this sort of action is to ignore it, but I hope that all involved in public life on the islands will condemn internet racist bullying.”
Four refugee families arrived in the Stornoway area last Thursday to be rehoused.
The group of 18 individuals including several school-age children, bring the total of families rehomed in the Western Isles to six.