LOCALS living along the NC500 route have blasted “daft” visitors for taking part in a bizarre tourist trend.
Residents in Inverness were left puzzled when they noticed padlocks secured on the bridge railings that run along the River Ness.
A bizarre new craze has come to Inverness[/caption]
‘Love locks’ have been secured on the bridge railings along the River Ness[/caption]
Locals fumed online after discovering the tourist trend had hit their hometown[/caption]
The craze for attaching padlocks to bridge railings first started in Paris over 15 years ago, when loved-up couples began locking them on the Pont Des Arts bridge.
But the trend became so popular that the bridge eventually collapsed under the 45-tonne weight of the locks.
And now the touristy practice has made its way to Inverness.
Unhappy locals took to social media to react to the ‘love locks’ that have appeared in the city.
Videos shared to Facebook show tens of padlocks affixed to the bridge – some inscribed with affectionate words and initials.
One raging resident wrote: “The craze of putting padlocks on fences and bridges etc has now reached the ‘start’ of the NC500 in Inverness. How long will it be before another bridge is festooned with padlocks? Nothing but litter.”
Another fumed: “I kind of get this if it was some sort of iconic romantic place… but … seriously Inverness!!!”
A third added: “Maybe padlock the perpetrators too! People are like sheep.”
This comes shortly after NC500 locals hit out at a tourist for “dumping grey water” across a road a few metres away from people’s homes.
Residents in Shieldaig, Wester Ross, were left furious when they spotted a motorhome driver dumping the waste in the middle of a street.
We also told of how a “brazen” campervan driver was slammed by NC500 locals after they parked looking directly into someone’s living room.
And NC500 visitors were ‘absolutely disgusted’ after discovering piles of human waste.
