The huge pile of debris obscures Blà Bheinn

A mountain of rubbish high enough to obscure one of Skye’s munros was collected in a spring clean of one of the island’s beauty spots.

Almost 230 cubic metres of rubbish was gathered by volunteers from the John Muir Trust from the bay at Camas Fhionnairigh on the island’s Strathaird peninsula.

Among the debris cleared from the area – known as Camasunary in its anglicised form – were enough fishing net to cover three football pitches, a boat’s petrol tank, 100 barrels and numerous spent shotgun cartridges washed downstream from sporting estates.

More common items such as crisp packets, bottles, cans, plastic containers and toothbrushes were also collected by the 17 volunteers working for the trust, which owns land around the bay.

Volunteers with the rubbish collected, with Blà Bheinn in the background

The bay attracts litter and debris which drifts in on prevailing tides and winds, with currents running between Rum and Eigg pushing flotsam into the area. It stands in the shadow of the 928m (3,045ft) Blà Bheinn, an outlier of the Cuillin range. It is five years since the last clean-up.

Andrew Campbell, head of land management for the John Muir Trust said: “Although the trust doesn’t own Camasunary it is bordered by Strathaird Estate and our members feel a close attachment to it.

“As one of the main gateways to the Cuillin, the bay is one of the most iconic sights in Skye so it is important to keep it in good condition.”

The trust said the rubbish collected represented only about a quarter of the litter at the site.

Mr Campbell continued: “Our volunteers deserve to be thanked for putting in so much time and hard work, but we have only really managed to scratch the surface. There is still a great deal of work to rid rubbish from this beach as well as other stretches of our iconic Scottish coastlines.”

The bagged rubbish has been secured by netting and will be taken from the site by boat. The bay is about 45 minutes walk from the nearest road, which would make a carry-out of the litter virtually impossible on land.