FORMER Open champion Sandy Lyle is at the centre of a council investigation after being accused of driving away tourists and barring locals from his Scottish estate.
Local residents have been angered by ''Strictly Private'' signs which have been put up around the 43-year-old Lyle's 2000-acre estate on the banks of Loch Voil, Perthshire.
Lyle, also winner of the 1988 US Masters, bought the remote Craigruie House 18 months ago. He added a neighbouring farm at the beginning of August, giving him ownership of more than two-and-a half-miles of the northern bank.
It is thought he paid around (pounds) 700,000 for the estate.
Previously, the north bank of the loch was open to local residents and tourists, but the signs now prohibit public access and boulders have been placed on the lochside verge to stop vehicles parking.
Stirling Council, which is responsible for the area, said yesterday that it had launched an investigation after several complaints were made to Richard Barron, the authority's countryside access officer.
He said: '' In the past, people were able to park on the side of Loch Voil and stroll and camp. Since Mr Lyle has put signs up saying, 'strictly private, no fishing, no camping, no parking' and boulders have been placed at the point where people used to park.''
Mr Barron said the council had no powers to compel Lyle to remove the signs.
''Technically, we can't make him take them down,'' he said. ''We will try to negotiate with him and say people have been going here for generations.''
Although the land reform bill, due to be introduced in the Scottish Parliament shortly, will give the public a right to roam, critics say it does not go far enough.
Mr Barron said: ''We usually find that Scottish landowners accept that people will roam in the Highlands, but people who move to Scotland from England sometimes have a different sort of mindset.''
Mr Lyle was not available for comment yesterday, but neighbour Gilmour Cumming said: ''He (Mr Lyle) has had a lot of hassle with campers making a heck of a mess, partying all night and leaving bottles of Buckfast lying about.''
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