The world’s largest telescope may be built in Spain’s Canary Islands instead of on its intended site in Hawaii after campaigners opposed the project, which they say would violate a sacred mountain.

Last year protesters blocked access to the Mauna Kea mountaintop site where the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) would sit, sparking a bitter legal battle.

The squabble in Hawaii over the telescope - which is designed to explain how the universe took shape - has led to the volcanic Spanish island of La Palma being suggested as an alternative.

The Canary island boasts clear skies and hosts several other telescopes which are already probing deep space.

Campaigners such as Kealoha Pisciotta, the president of the Mauna Kea Ohana group defending the mountain, say that the authorities should not have given the go-ahead to a project which will further desecrate island’s highest peak.

“The mountain needs to be revered. It’s a temple,” Ms Pisciotta said.