FED-UP residents at one of Scotland’s most picturesque villages are threatening to ban tourists’ cars from their narrow streets in a bid to deter a deluge of daytrippers.

Perched on the banks of Loch Lomond, the conservation village of Luss is famed as the tranquil setting of Take the High Road and boasts a population of just 120.

But every year it attracts more than 750,000 visitors – many of whom bring their cars – which wreaks havoc on the narrow streets.

Locals say Luss is being overrun in the summertime amid fears the volume of traffic is now verging on dangerous.

Among the solutions thrashed out at a public meeting is a plan to block off the main road to tourists using a barrier that will only allow access to residents.

It would mean visitors could only explore Luss’ leafy environs on foot.

Peter Robertson, secretary of Luss and Arden Community Council said a residents-only parking zone was impracticable because it would have to be policed by permanent wardens.

“On bad days it’s like trying to get out of Murrayfield after a rugby international, and it is only a matter of time before there’s an accident,” he said.

“There is a toxic mix of pedestrians walking around the streets which do not have pavements and cars which constantly circulate the village.”

The streets were never designed to accommodate the volume of traffic which arrives each summer and it had led to safety fears as well as inconvenience, he said.

“There is a major problem with parking in Luss," said Mr Robertson.

“Whether we have parking permits or not doesn’t matter, because that will not stop the influx of people into the village driving around looking for parking spaces.”

Local landowner Luss Estates, whose chairman is Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, has said it supports the idea of a barrier.

In 2009 police had to be called to close off the village after it became gridlocked, while queues have been known to form on the nearby A82.

The issue has been clouded by separate surveys into the traffic problems, one carried out by Argyll and Bute Council which showed support for a permit system, and another by the community that backed a barrier scheme.

Simon Miller, chief executive of Luss Estates, said that he had no issue with a barrier being built to deter visitors’ cars.

He said: “Any issues which a barrier creates would be negligible. We overwhelmingly support the Community Council recommendation that visitor traffic is excluded from the village by the means of a barrier.

“By removing visitors’ cars to the edge of the village, which is only 100 yards away, would transform the lives of residents and dramatically improve the safety and beauty of the village.”

The issue will be decided after a public consultation, which begins later this month.

A spokesman for Argyll and Bute Council said: “We have received representations regarding barriers, however, it would be difficult to install these in Luss given that nearby residential traffic uses the road. Barrier systems have been successfully used in pedestrianised areas of town centres. A formal consultation will be held on these proposals.”