The recent spell of warm weather appears to have led to an increase in the amount of litter dumped in one of Scotland’s most picturesque glens.
The rugged beauty of Glen Etive, near Glencoe, led to it being chosen as the stunning location for scenes in the James Bond blockbuster Skyfall.
It also attracts many thousands of walkers, climbers and campers every year and most take their rubbish home with them.
But a few leave their mess behind, including fire pits, beer cans, bottles, plastic cartons – and even human excrement.
Two years ago, Mark Shone, who lives in the glen and works for Glen Etive Estate, launched a campaign, called “Glen Etive the dirty truth”, on a social networking website.
His aim was to bring the antisocial behaviour to the attention of the public and to do this he posts images of the rubbish he finds.
Mr Shone said it had been very quiet this year until last weekend.
He wrote: “The good weather seems to attract the idiots.”
He posted 24 images showing the debris left behind by visitors to the glen.
This brought a flurry of comments describing the actions of the litter louts as “unbelievable” and “disgusting behaviour” and saying they had “no respect for our beautiful countryside” and were “very antisocial”.
One visitor to the area said he had been approached by a National Trust ranger, who said they were now photographing licence plates and campsites to identify and report offenders.
But Scott McCombie, who is property manager at the National Trust visitor centre in Glencoe, said this was not trust policy.
He said: “We talk to folk and ask them to leave no trace – to take their litter home and leave the place pristine for everybody else to come along and enjoy it.
“I will be talking to staff about this.”
Councillor Andrew Baxter, Fort William and Ardnamurchan, said it was a shame the littering had started again as just a fortnight ago a liaison group meeting had been told it appeared to be less of a problem this year.
He said: “We were all keeping our fingers crossed this would carry on, but sadly it has not happened and it is very disappointing that people are behaving in this way.
“The council has put in an extra large bin at the end of the road, but it seems people have camped within 100 yards of it and still left their rubbish behind.”
He added that the police had given a commitment that there would be some high profile policing in the glen this summer.
