A tiny Scottish island is losing its school amid a bitter row over an alleged broken promise.
Canna Primary reopened last year for the first time in three years and a teacher was brought in for Denise and Gordon Guthrie’s four children.
But after just 18 months, hope of an influx of people on the Hebridean outpost has failed to materialise.
The couple have now returned to the mainland, claiming the family has been let down by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), which owns the island.
They allege the charity failed to act on a pledge that more families would become residents.
The Guthries never planned to move to the most westerly of the Small Isles, which along with its neighbouring Sanday had a population of just 13, if there was no prospect of other children joining their own.
Mrs Guthrie, 34, said: “We were very excited about moving to the island. We uprooted our family and moved there thanks to the information that they gave us at the time, then they changed it six months down the line, so we felt very let down.”
A spokesman for the NTS said any promise of recruiting other families was “unlikely” and current housing options were limited.
“The NTS, along with the community, is very supportive of welcoming families,” he said. “We are working closely with the community development trust to review the options for converting derelict and unused buildings into habitable accommodation as well as providing infrastructure such as water and power supplies that would be needed.”
A spokeswoman for Highland Council said: “We did have an acting head teacher in place. This has now ceased. The school is currently not in use. Canna Primary teaching provision is currently mothballed.”