Residents have overwhelmingly voted against proposals to relocate beavers to Gartocharn’s nature reserve amid environmental concerns.

Earlier this year, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), who run the site near High Wards Farm, began a consultation for a licence to translocate beavers from Angus and Perthshire to Loch Lomond.

However, residents say the consultation has been too narrow, with 45 joining a public meeting organised by Kilmaronock Community Council, and many outlining their opposition.

Local farmers and anglers spoke of their fears after an “eye-opening” trip to Blairgowrie in Perthshire, where they said tunnelling by beavers had caused banks to collapse during higher water months, washing down silt, trees and seeds from invasive plant species.

There are also fears of the threat beavers pose to fish in Loch Lomond.

READ MORE: Daily Record