EIGG

A SUCCESSION of absentee landlords, including millionaire playboy Keith Schellenberg, had left the Hebridean island’s homes dilapidated and the population of 78 bitter.

But after a groundbreaking buyout from eccentric German artist Maruma in 1997, there are now 100 residents.

With 30 new homes built, broadband installed and a self-sufficient renewable energy supply, the Small Isle – six miles long and three miles wide – has been lauded as a success story by the SNP.

But Eigg, by its own admission, is still reliant on the taxpayer to survive and is struggling to make ends meet, racking up seven years of losses – totalling £500,000 – since the island last recorded a profit in 2010.

Accusations persist that it is cashing in on ‘green’ grants to get by, with locals receiving cash for, among other things, lessons in energy efficiency and writing songs about their carbon footprint.