Irresponsible walkers have turned an emergency shelter at the top of the UK's highest mountain into a 'dumping ground'.

The shelter is used by Lochaber Mountain Rescue to treat casualties on Ben Nevis as well as climbers caught up by unexpectedly bad weather.

Iain Cameron, who monitors snow-patches on the UK's hills, shared a video on social media showing the shelter filled with discarded rubbish.

He wrote: "I despair. The Ben Nevis summit shelter is, as the name suggests, a refuge for people who may require it in an emergency.

"Instead it’s been used as a dumping ground for selfish people who can’t be bothered to take their sh!t home."

Broadcaster Muriel Gray, who fronted The Munro Show in the 1980s about walking Scotland's tallest mountains, described the video as "appalling".

Dee Ward, chair of Scottish Land Estates, said: "This is terrible. It’s why we locked out, open to everyone, bothy.

"We still allow access but people now have to call us, give their name & number, then we give them the code. It’s still free, we provide firewood etc but it’s a shame we can’t operate an open system like Norway."

Another said: "Same at the top of Snowdon. Absolute toilet. Come to think of it Everest base camp too. Pretty dire."

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Lochaber Mountain Rescue warned previously that the shelter, which sits on top of the old observatory tower, had become a 'no-go-zone' for the team.

Mike Smith, treasurer, said it was a “complete and utter no no” to take a casualty to the shelter for treatment given the state of the place.

He said: “Occasionally if we bring someone up the mountain as we are near the top, we will take them in to repackage them up before the descent.

"We would get them in a survival bag or perhaps need to stop bleeding or administer drugs. It’s good to have a sheltered area to do these things."

Ian Sykes, the former mountaineer who launched Nevisport and co-founded the Nevis Range ski resort said littering was part of the reason why he supports plan for Lochaber to be designated Scotland's next national park.

He said: "Ben Nevis is a fabulous mountain and it's covered in rubbish.

"If we had a national park with a lot of people working for the park and improving things and redoing the paths I think it would develop the area amazingly."

The shelter on Ben Nevis' neighbouring summit, Carn Dearg, was removed in 2004 as it was frequently buried in snow in winter and difficult to locate.