Politician demands action to save what was once Britain's smallest manned lighthouse

A Highlands MSP has called for greater protection for a disused lighthouse on the shores of Loch Ness.

Labour politician David Stewart warned the Bona Lighthouse at Lochend, near Inverness, is falling into disrepair. Its jetty has already collapsed into the water, he said.

The 19th-century building marks the entrance to the Caledonian Canal from Loch Ness. It was once the smallest manned lighthouse in Britain but has been empty for the last four years.

Stewart plans to table parliamentary questions on the issue and is trying to organise a meeting with the lighthouse's owner, British Waterways.

He said: “It is a great shame that this lighthouse, which may be our only inland lighthouse, is being left to go to rack and ruin.

“The site is steeped in the history of the development of the Caledonian Canal. It is in a wonderful location but has just suffered from gross neglect.”

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