Frustration at orange and tangerine peel on Ben Nevis Published duration 9 February 2016

image copyright SAIS Lochaber image caption Pictures of discarded peel uploaded to a blog by the Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service

Britain's highest mountain is being blighted by dropped orange and tangerine peel.

The Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) has highlighted the problem on Ben Nevis in a series of images in a blog.

The peel can take months to biodegrade and disappear.

Dropped banana skins have also been an issue in the past and in 2009 the John Muir Trust removed more than 1,000 from the summit of Ben Nevis.

In the blog, the SAIS has uploaded photographs of discarded peel of various sizes and stages of decomposition.

The captions under the pictures suggest increasing levels of frustration, going from "Orange peel" to "Orange peel!!!!!!!!!!"

image copyright Thinkstock image caption Ben Nevis has had a problem with dropped banana skins in the past

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS), which has raised concerns in the past about litter on Scotland's hills, has urged walkers not leave food waste and other rubbish.

A spokesperson said: "The MCofS applauds the action by organisations carrying out waste collection in areas such as Ben Nevis, which attract large numbers of visitors.

"We will continue to emphasise the need for responsible behaviour in the mountains and for users to comply with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code."

Last year, separate incidents of littering in the Cairngorms prompted angry responses on social media.

The MCofS shared a YouTube clip of a hill walker describing rubbish left in a remote location as "absolute filth".