YOU see them here, you see them there, hopefully you’ll soon see them everywhere.

A small phenomenon called Yes stones is sweeping across Scotland and elsewhere in a colourful and solid expression of the desire for Scottish independence.

They are not very big, usually less than hand size, and all are painted with a Saltire and the word Yes, and so far they have taken up residence in lochs, paths, and even an Asian statue. The stones are the brainchildren of Pitlochry sculptor Alison Rollo who started the craze to boost the Yes cause.

She said: “I just happened to have a lot of lovely rounded granite pebbles around our property.

“We helped start Yes Pitlochry and recently we had a stall at a gala. It seemed like a good idea to paint the stones with Yes and sell them to raise funds, and we sold heaps.

“Since then we have had people sending us photographs of them and we know they have gone all over the place.

“There’s one on the walk to Killiecrankie, and another on Ben Bragghie, and we have just received a fabulous photograph of one on the Lairig Ghru walk where someone has put a Yes stone just under the water in the loch beside the walk.”

Americans or Scots visiting America have taken to the stones, as Rollo explained: “We know of one in Las Vegas, and another in Hawaii, but the most unusual location for a Yes stone so far has to be Alcatraz.

“I’ve also been sent a photograph of one being cradled by a statue of Buddha somewhere in Asia .”

Rollo, who confesses to being a senior citizen, says that anyone with a suitable stone and some blue paint can make a Yes stone, especially if it’s a light-coloured stone.

Confessing to be not very technically-minded, Rollo is hoping that someone will set up a social media page, perhaps on Twitter or Facebook to chronicle the “march” of the Yes stones. Eventually it is hoped to create an artwork from the pictures of Yes stones.

She said: “My idea was that Scotland not being short of stones, if everyone that wanted to could paint a few stones with Yes and put them in places where people could see them, it would send out a message that Yes is here to stay. My hope is that people will plant their stones and photograph them, and then perhaps we could create a huge collage, particularly if they are beside signposts or tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower or Edinburgh Castle.

“People just seem to love the idea, though I don’t think Unionists do. It’s just a non-intrusive way of sending out a subliminal message and it appears to be catching on.

“I don’t think anyone can have any major objections to the Yes stones. It’s just a beautiful way of promoting Yes, and you could say that even the stones are singing about independence for Scotland.”