It was a bizarre movement which sparked a police hunt and a barrage of criticism from residents across the Highlands last summer.

But after a brief hiatus it appears the claims that the Earth is flat, which appeared in graffiti form on road signs in Inverness and along the A9 Thurso-Perth road, have re-emerged in a more direct and accessible form.

For what appears to be a campaign shop called The Flat Earth has popped up in the city’s Greig Street.

The door shutters are down but inside the premises there are sofas, a television, a book case and a chessboard, as well as a kitchen.

And on the front window of the shop there is an extensive list of 50 questions which attempt to debunk widely recognised facts about our planet concerning its curvature, orbital movement and the evidence for gravity.

At the top of the list it claims: “You have been lied to. We do not live on a spherical rock hurtling through a vacuum.”

Inverness West councillor Alex Graham said: “I am not aware of this development myself. Personally I do believe the Earth is round but people are very much entitled to have a different view on that, as long as debate is peaceful.

“Unfortunately, Greig Street has had several empty shops recently and anything that helps boost the occupancy is to be welcomed.”

In September, police confirmed that they were investigating a positive line of inquiry as they attempted to track down those responsible for the graffiti.

The slogan was spray painted on the side of buildings and signposts across Inverness, appearing in areas such as South Kessock, Howdens Garden Centre and Daviot Wood Picnic site.

The same graffiti, thought to be done in the same handwriting, also appeared at Caley Thistle stadium in Inverness and the Aviemore ski road, and spread as far south as Livingston.