An animal activist has offended hillwalkers by leaving "offensive" messages painted on rocks at the summit of Scottish munros.
The local posts on Instagram under the sweary handle f******_hostile_vegan_sausage, referring to himself as a "metal head munro bagger" as he shares pictures of his controversial work.
Edinburgh Live reports that the walker - known only by the initials RM - has been placing a brightly coloured painted stone on each munro he completes with messages such as "MEAT: Murder, Evil, Agony, Torture" and "I'll kill them all unless they're vegan."
His work has shocked members of the hillwalking community - a tight knit one founded on a basis of mutual respect for others walkers.
Mantras include leaving no rubbish and greeting other walkers as they pass - so many have not taken too kindly to the strong messages left in the Scottish beauty spots.
One horrified hillwalker, Anne Butler, was shocked to find a stone with "Be kind to animals or I'll kill you" scrawled on it.
Anne said: "Whatever your beliefs, leaving them painted on a cairn on a remote munro top is nothing more than an act of vandalism.
"Please respect the environment and leave it unspoilt for all who use it. I buried the offending rock under a lot of others, hopefully never to be seen again."
One fuming user said: "It seems to be a new trend to graffiti on the hills. No better than taking a s*** on a summit in my opinion."
Another said: "No place for this nonsense in the hills, whatever the message. Graffiti, litter, dog poo bags, anyone leaving this stuff behind is an a*******."
Approached for comment, "RM" said: "I'm about 1/3 done so far. I would also not call three idiots and one troll a backlash and I can deal with them on my own."
He added: "It's obvious that it's the message that offends them, not the paint on the small rock.
"So, what I'm saying is, let's maybe not make a big deal out of little rocks in the mountains.
"On my hikes I'm finding other painted rocks. With flags, usually Scottish, with expressions of love, mental health support, advertising things, some were painted to resemble a ladybug or a frog.
"I have never removed any of these. If anything, I'm putting them back on top of the cairn. Shame on these people who remove them although I suspect they only remove mine."
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