A row over the use of remote mountain bothies by stag parties and adventure groups has led to a campaign of poison pen letters and calls from angry hillwalkers to restrict access to the shelters.

Landowners in Scotland have received a series of anonymous letters demanding shelters should no longer be advertised on the Mountain Bothy Association (MBA) website.

The MBA, a Scottish registered charity, maintains around 100 free-to-use bothies across faraway swathes of Scotland, Wales and northern England which remain open to the public for most of the year.

The shelters were originally built as a refuge for gamekeepers and deer stalking parties without basic requirements such as electricity, running water and toilets.

Commercial use is prohibited but walkers claim bothies have become increasingly occupied and misused by guided tours and adventure seekers on holidays, owing its rising popularity to features in magazines and TV documentaries.

The profile of bothies was further raised last February following the publication of The Scottish Bothy Bible.

The book, written by bothy expert Geoff Allan, details explorers can visit some of the country's most remote shelters, some of which were once known only to seasoned hillwalkers.