These pictures show the aftermath of what appears to be an illegal tree-felling operation in Inverness.
A large tree of about 25ft was cut down along with about half a dozen smaller ones and has blocked a popular dog-walking path at Castle Heather, just off the Southern Distributor Road.
The incident took place in an area of woodland directly across the road from the Fairways golf driving range.
A Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) spokesman confirmed there is no felling licence from FCS in operation in the general site area and that no one has applied for one.
Both FCS and Highland Council said they did not own the land in question.
Local resident Ian Nicholson, of Castle Heather Road, said he uses the path about twice a day to walk his dog and fears there may also have been nesting birds in the trees.
He believes that whoever cut down the trees on Saturday used a chainsaw and may have done so to improve their satellite reception, as there have been problems in the area.
Mr Nicholson added: “It’s very inconsiderate for someone to do that. If someone felt the trees were causing a problem, contact the Forestry Commission and they would have done something.
“It’s dangerous at the moment. They have cut it down (the bigger tree) and left it where it is. The smaller ones were on an embankment for flood prevention. If it had fallen the other way another metre it would been on the pavement, and it would be very close to the road.
“It’s a well-established route and people use it to go back and forth between the end at Dows, and Asda. It’s much safer than walking beside the road. A lot of elderly people use the path as well.”
A spokesman for RSPB Scotland said: “We’d need to get some more details before being able to comment on the legality of the felling but it really isn’t best practice to fell trees at this time of year during the bird nesting season.”
The FCS spokesman added: “We would always say if a member of the public is concerned about tree felling in an area they should contact their local Forestry Commission Scotland office and we can discuss and look into it more closely.”
