Fascinating drone footage shows how the Three Legs of Mann artwork on the face of North Barrule has been changed which makes it disappear at a distance.

Local builder Bryan Callister created the 30m diameter ’art installation’ in 2019 using stones. He followed it up with a planning application to paint it white, then withdrew the application but went ahead anyway, prompting a number of objections.

Last weekend, someone headed to the island’s second highest peak to paint the stones which make up the triskelion a ‘natural colour’.

The anonymous person then posted on social media to tell people what they had done which has since sparked a lot of anger among Manx residents.

Now, Frank Schuengel has posted drone footage and images of how the three legs looks after flying it over the site this week.

Posting on Twitter, he said: ‘The three legs are certainly still here, just less visible.’

As he takes the drone closer to the triskelion the three legs becomes clear but as it zooms out you can see the outline begin to disappear and merge with the rest of the stone-littered hill face.

Over the weekend, a mysterious email was sent to Media Isle of Man which read: ‘North Barrule’s Three Legs of Mann has been returned to a natural stone colour. Old rope and rusting metal rods left behind after its creation have also been removed.

‘This was an effort to return the view to nature, but if we’d like to paint the lily, there is always Manx democracy to help us decide the colour.’

Mr Callister told Media Isle of Man he has not been back up to the artwork since creating it but is disappointed to see it go.

He said: ‘I am gutted to see it go. You can’t imagine what I went through and then all that work just disappears.’

In 2019, Mr Callister spent 12 weeks on North Barrule shifting hundreds of rocks to create the 100ft landmark.

The stonework has been mired in controversy but, for many, it has become an accepted landmark. Some people have even talked about heading up to repaint the stones white once more.