Posts and way markers along a long distance footpath in Eryri National Park, also known as Snowdonia, have disappeared.

The local council said it was "considering its response" to the incident along the Snowdonia Slate Trail, an 83-mile circular route around the northern part of Eryri, starting from Bangor.

Bran Devey, from Ramblers Cymru, told Sky News that "a lot of time and effort goes into putting in these waymarkers".

"We don't really have any information about why somebody's done this or the kind of logic behind it at this moment in time," he said.

"I know that when I spoke to our volunteers when they were putting the posts in, they said it was quite the challenge to put them in because of the location so it's obvious that somebody has targeted that area for whatever reason and decided to move those posts."

Aled Owen, one of the Snowdonia Slate Trail's trustees, told Sky News this was the second time this had happened.

"On the posts there are plastic roundels and whoever's taken them has taken the roundels off," he said.

"Someone had seen one of the roundels in a ditch near where the posts were.

"Someone has taken the posts to reuse them or something as a fence."

Mr Owen said it would now be harder for visitors to walk in the fog.

"We're going to put more notes on our website to show the way," he said.

"But it wastes the time of our volunteers who put the signs up and workers from Gwynedd Council and the aim of the path is to bring business to the area's old slate villages."

A spokesperson for Gwynedd Council said there was no clear motive for the removal of the posts but it was trying to resolve the matter with "stakeholders".

"It is extremely disappointing that these were removed particularly when Ramblers members had given their time voluntarily to install them and improve the footpath," they said.

A spokesperson for Eryri|Snowdonia said respect for the park and its communities was "paramount".

"Waymarkers serve as essential guides for outdoor enthusiasts, ensuring they follow designated routes," they added.

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According to Mr Devey, the mystery surrounding the missing signs is part of a "broader issue".

"We do see issues where way markers and posts do go missing," he said.

"Obviously, some areas seem to be targeted, like this one, because it's in a more remote area so it wouldn't be someone vandalising, maybe somebody who has a reason why they want it not to be there anymore.

"More broadly, with access in Wales, we estimate that around 50% of the paths in Wales have issues around being accessible and a lot of those issues revolve around missing signage and signposts."