Rangers face anti-social behaviour from Glenmore campers
Calls for more support in dealing with the small numbers of Highland visitors who can spoil a visit for everyone else.
Scotland's forestry body has called for more support in tackling anti-social behaviour after staff were abused by aggressive campers who kicked ducks, axed trees and damaged the environment.
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) made the appeal after Police were called to deal with a small group at Glenmore last weekend.
Complaints were made about noise and litter from the men, and although staff spoke to the group, they were met with abuse.
Laura McNally, FLS's area visitor services manager, said: "Situations such as this can be very intimidating for our staff and I have to commend our Glenmore team for dealing with this so professionally over the course of three days.
"We engaged with the group of young men on Saturday (June 26th) to explain why they had to move their camp and to clarify appropriate behaviour, but this fell on deaf ears and was met with abuse. Further engagement met with the same response.
"Police Scotland did attend and the group seemed to comply, but simply moved their camp.
"We've also seen other groups put on a show of good behaviour when they have to and we continue to work closely with our local police partners to learn lessons from this event.
"Anti-social behaviour by a small group can spoil a visit for everyone else. This is the case no matter where it occurs.
"Our rangers will do what they can to manage a situation but public support is vital, especially if the rangers aren't in the area at the time. We would encourage members of the public to call Police Scotland on 101 or use the online form.
"Concerted action raises the profile of incidents, provide Police Scotland with a detailed understanding of the issues and provide them with the intelligence they need to marshal their resources appropriately."
Maree Morrison, recreation ranger for FLS in Glenmore, added: "We have a huge number of staff on site this year to help visitors - who might not have visited the area before -understand what 'responsible access' means."
She added that "some people simply don't understand what's okay and what's not"
Police Scotland said there were no arrests in relation to the incident.
A spokeswoman said: "Officers will be carrying out additional patrols in the area and will work alongside local rangers to support their patrols and discourage any anti-social behaviour."