A metal detectorist has discovered abandoned military gear while exploring on Arran.

The young man was surface detecting near Kilmory when he went to explore the remains of a rundown building.

Near a pile of brush his detector went off and he discovered a green bag of ammunition, some eaten rations and a brand new entrenching tool.

He told the Herald: “I was with my brother at the time who is an ex squaddie so he knew they were blanks. My initial reaction was excitement because I hadn’t found anything like that before, but it grew to concern when I realised that they had just be left with complete disregard to anyone’s safety

“I don’t think they would hurt anyone but then again you never know so I phoned 101 and asked for advice and they called the police to collect.”

The name of British multinational defence and aerospace company BAE Systems can be seen on the bag of rounds.

It is believed a military training exercise had taken place on Arran prior to the discovery.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “We were contacted by a resident on Arran who had found what appeared to be a bag of ammunition, this was seized by police and is believed to have been blank rounds. It is believed there is no criminality involved.”

An MOD spokesperson said: “The photographs in question appear to show blank ammunition that has no live rounds inside. The Ministry of Defence takes all loss of property very seriously and we regularly review our procedures.”