A company that organises student tours has seen a boost in demand for walks to a threatened Glasgow monument.

More than 100 students from all of Glasgow's universities visited Sighthill Stone Circle last month.

And Gary Brown, who runs Student Tours Scotland, has had to schedule extra tours to the landmark due to "high demand".

The stone circle in Sighthill Park could be overhauled to make way for a pathway as part of the city's bid to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Built in 1979, it is claimed to be the first astronomically aligned circle to have been erected in more than 3000 years.

As reported in the Evening Times on January 28, Duncan Lunan, the circle's creator, has warned it cannot be removed without explosives.

His group, The Friends Of The Sighthill Stone Circle, has attracted more than 2000 signatures to a petition to save the stone circle.

Mr Brown, 27, from Rutherglen, said there was a buzz among students about the campaign to save Sighthill Stone Circle.

A total of 145 students have visited the site on four tours – one last December and three last month.

He said: "I think it is because it is something different. A lot of the tours have their own appeals but the stone circle has something magical about it.

"Every time I research a park there is always something that used to be there but is not there any more.

"The plans for the 2018 Youth Olympics are great, but why can't it include that? Why can't it be included in the new plan?"

Freddy Laembgen, 22, from Germany, moved to Glasgow last September to study Italian and German languages at Caledonian University.

He said: "The stone circle itself is rather simplistic, but what it represents is so much more. I would be sad to see it go.

"You would not see that in Germany or Italy, especially with so much meaning behind it."

Sarah Balwierczak, 19, from America, who is also studying at Caledonian University, said: "The circle is interesting and has a certain charm about it.

"I am glad I got the opportunity to see it on a tour. It would be sad if it was torn down."

Another Caledonian student, Auriane Riquet, 22, from France, said: "It's not like the other tourist sites. It has a connection to the mystic past of Glasgow.

"I am sad there are plans to remove the stones."

Glasgow City Council plans to demolish the existing tower blocks in Sighthill to build 830 homes and a school.

A council spokesman said: "The council's view is that we would like the stones to remain in Sighthill Park and would only move them if they were found to be a block to the regeneration of the area."

matty.sutton@ eveningtimes.co.uk