Anti-abortion campaigners in Sligo claim their sign on Benbulben was 'vandalised' and removed from the mountain last night.

A number of local campaigners calling for a 'No' vote put up the sign on the north face of the mountain in the early hours of yesterday morning - a move which prompted criticism from many other locals.

While it was not clear exactly when the sign came down, only some debris from the sign was evident on Benbulben this morning.

Now you see it ...... now you don’t..... #together4yes #loveboth #benbulben #sligo @OceanFmIreland pic.twitter.com/6uqiWHv7KG

— Niall Delaney (@OceanNWT) May 18, 2018

#benbulben Gone. Would it be a bit much to report them for littering pic.twitter.com/3HdpeOHlNM

— Annie West (@anniewestdotcom) May 18, 2018

One of the people who made the sign, Tommy Banks, spoke to Ocean FM News last night.

He said: "A threat was made from some of the Yes people - one of them came to me and said 'that will come down'.

"That was reported to the guards - it was private property."

Sligo County Council yesterday said the matter was out of their hands as the land in question is commonage.

However, An Taisce confirmed they had submitted a legal complaint to the council over the sign.

The national trust said in a statement yesterday: "As the mountain is part of a sensitive rural landscape in a visually vulnerable and surrounded by scenic routes [...] there is a requirement to obtain planning permission and no exemptions apply.

"The National Parks and Wildlife Service have also highlighted the ecological impacts of disturbance and introduction of alien materials onto the European Special Area of Conservation designated mountainside and called for its immediate removal."

While the sign proved controversial, it was also mocked across social media:

They were trying to warn us pic.twitter.com/r0TTyqNH5m

— Fuchsia MacAree (@fuchsiamacaree) May 17, 2018