A theme park boss has said plans for a £30m leisure resort at Loch Lomond will be ditched if they are not welcomed by the people of Scotland.

The owner of Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire plans to develop a 20-hectare site at West Riverside in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

The firm operates one of the UK's most successful holiday resorts in Kirby Misperton and sees the Loch Lomond shores as the ideal location for their first investment in Scotland.

Its masterplan for the resort could include lodges, a boutique hotel, hostel and glamping pods together with a range of family based attractions and restaurants. It would be named the Iconic Leisure Resort Loch Lomond.

Scottish Enterprise, which named the firm as the preferred bidder, said Flamingo Land Ltd will be "looking to build on the success" of the current resort Loch Lomond Shores, where visitor numbers have steadily increased over the last five years to 1.25 million annually.

However, the boss of Flamingo Land has revealed the plans will not go ahead if they are not supported by "most of the people in Scotland" after an online petition against the proposals emerged.

The petition, named Save Loch Lomond, claims to have gained over 20,000 signatures and states: "We must stand up to this as a strong voice against the commercialisation of a national gem for future generations."

Flamingo Land chief executive, Gordon Gibb, told STV News he did not trust the results of the petition and asked for the opportunity to fully explain the plans to those affected.

He said: "Flamingo Land totally understands some of the local concerns about our proposed leisure resort in Balloch and we are committed to engaging with all parties involved to fully explain our ideas.

"We would like to point out that the planning process has not even commenced yet and our proposals are concentrated on residential holidays and not creating a theme park as some publications have suggested

"Our bid was successful due to the sensitive way in which we have considered the site in question and we look forward to continuing to cooperate with the consultation group.

"It's also worth making the point that it is very easy to orchestrate any campaign by manipulating social media and on having reviewed the petition, it is apparent that not e-signatures have been requested or collated.

"The results of the petition, therefore, have to be questioned.

"To be frank, if our plans are not welcomed by most of the people in Scotland then we will not proceed further but I do not trust the results of the petition and we have not yet been given the chance to fully explain our plans."

A spokesman for 38 Degrees said: "38 Degrees host petitions on many different issues started by people all round the country on things they care about. We have millions of people taking action every year and our systems are very robust.

"All the people who have signed this petition have provided postcodes and email addresses as with every other petition we run."