The wildfires that engulfed large tracts of the West Highlands in the long spell of dry weather have affected the drinking water in some communities.

One wildfire near Achmore led to some small local lochs being contaminated by ash in the Kyle of Lochalsh area.

To counteract this, extra chlorine has been added to public supplies, but many people find heavily chlorinated water hard to drink.

The villages of Auchtertyre, Kirkton, Dornie and Kyle of Lochalsh itself were affected.

Matthew Baron, who runs the Clachan Inn in Dornie, said the water used behind the bar now has to come from sources other than the mains supply.

He said: "I haven't drunk the water myself but am told there is quite a taste of chlorine.

"It means, for example, the ice we make has to come from the bottles of water Scottish Water has supplied, and not the tap. We also have to use bottled water for cooking or boil it."

He said cans of cola or lemonade have to be used, rather than draught, which involves the mains supply. He added: "But our customers are managing with bottled water in their whisky."

A Scottish Water spokesman said: "The recent fires in the area have resulted in ash entering some of our raw water supplies. A consequence of this is that the water has an unusual taste and customers reported an issue with the taste of the water."

He said that last Friday Scottish Water had obtained a licence to use an alternative water supply, and its local team were working to flush the affected water out of the system. Bottled water had been issued to around 200 customers.

He said the water supply was safe to drink, had been extensively sampled and met public health regulations.

He added the taste would improve soon and return to normal.

The spokesman added: "We apologise for any inconvenience caused and want to thank local customers for their patience.