ONE of Scotland's most prestigious golf courses has been invaded by picnickers, dogwalkers and surfers changing clothes in the rough.

The North Berwick Golf Club, in East Lothian, is regularly used as a qualifying venue for the Open Championship.

But golfers have been shocked in recent weeks by the number of tourists who have been misbehaving on its greens, fairways and bunkers.

Club officials have now put up signs warning visitors to stay off the course in a bid to deter further bad behaviour.

Club managing Secretary Christopher Spencer said: "We are fortunate to be right on the coast and have terrific views, but with that comes a problem with public access.

"We had people come along and picnic in the greens and families with kids playing in bunkers building sandcastles.. Surfers have been getting naked and changed by the second fairway.

"We have even had people trying to pitch up camping right in front of the 13th green."

He added that the main issue was one of safety, saying: "Even the best golfers in the world cannot always hit the ball in a straight line. We have one to four golfers teeing off every ten minutes on any given day here.

"If a member of the public was hit by a ball as they crossed a fairway, they could be seriously injured. I was playing the other day and almost hit a dog that was running about with my downswing."