Residents were furious after park rangers at a popular beauty spot forced sleeping campers to get up and go.
The rangers woke the group of wild campers, who were sleeping in tents near Loch Ness in Scotland, forced them to tidy up, then told them to leave, prompting accusations of overzealous behaviour from locals.
The campers were also reported to local police, even though all they’d done was leave a little rubbish and firewood outside their tents overnight, reports the Daily Record.
Residents in the area fumed that the campers were simply enjoying the countryside and accused rangers of ‘abusing their position’.
The Highland Council Access Rangers came across the group near Loch Ness on Sunday morning and ordered them to clean up and pack up and leave straight away.
Images shared online by the wardens showed the group had been sleeping in their tents and left some rubbish and firewood outside.
The post by the rangers said: “Today near Loch Ness. These campers were woken up and told to tidy up and move immediately.
"They were doing so, and it will be checked later. Police were also informed."
But the post angered locals, who jumped to the campers’ defence, accusing the rangers of being too strict.
One local wrote: “If they were spotted leaving their pitch in a state then by all means take the appropriate action.
"But to wake them up and tell them to move on before giving them the opportunity to clean up, smacks of overly doing it by authority.
Another local said: “Show us an after picture… these pictures are signs of a messy night. And a rude early awakening! Who is to say they wouldn’t clean up anyway.”
Another added: “They're just camping, why would you inform the police? Camping isn't illegal and you have absolutely no grounds to say they'd leave a mess or were acting irresponsibly.
A fourth said: “I have concerns the rangers have abused their position and have not handled this correctly.
However, other residents called on the rangers to explain their decision after pointing out that the campers looked to have been burning hand sawn blocks of wood.
One said: “There is a campfire with what look like logs taken from a harvested woodpile.”
Another said: “Is everyone missing the point they're burning sawn tree trunks? What are the chances they brought them themselves?”
A third said: “All for the rangers but you must explain to the public exactly what they are doing wrong and why it's wrong."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Park rangers and local authorities have enforcement powers when it comes to anti-social behaviour issues like dirty camping and can issue fines. Police Scotland will support this activity where necessary.
"We all have a responsibility to leave beauty spots as we found them, leaving no trace of your visit and we ask the public to have a Plan B should your chosen destination be at capacity.”
The Highland Council Access Rangers have been contacted for comment.
