Banana men and women in Ben Nevis litter warning

Trust staff dressed as children's character Bananaman and as a banana

Staff at a landscape conservation charity have been wearing banana costumes in an effort to highlight a litter problem on Ben Nevis.

The John Muir Trust said the move followed walkers failing to heed its calls discouraging people from leaving banana skins on the mountain.

The trust said some people mistakenly believed the skins bio-degrade quickly.

Workers in banana costumes at the foot of Ben Nevis have been asking walkers not to leave rubbish on its slopes.

In a recent clean-up, 10 out of 18 rubbish bags were filled with banana skins.

Trust conservation officer Sarah Lewis said: "Bananas have a lot of potassium in their skins which can change the soil composition.

"They have a hard time bio-degrading in rocky and cold upland environments and can take up to two years to fully decompose.

"Scavengers such as herring gulls and crows are doing better on the summit plateau and other litter hotspots than they would naturally, solely because of the amount of edible rubbish that gets left.

"These species are displacing native birds such as snow bunting and ptarmigan."