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A Spanish town on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route is warning pilgrims and other visitors to stop defecating along the famous path.

Graphic signs telling visitors not to stop for a poo break during their walk to the holy city of Santiago de Compostela, in north-western Spain, have been erected in the municipality of Lastres.

But no one knows who put up the signs, which show a squatting figure defecating within a red circle with a diagonal line across it.

Someone in the municipality of Lastres has posted signs warning pilgrims not to defecate on the trail

The pilgrimage, known as the Way of St James, attracts thousands of pilgrims every year, but there can be very few places to go when nature calls.

In Lastres, angry residents have complained about pilgrims defecating outside their homes. The signs are posted next to warnings that urge people not to litter.

The pilgrimage begins at various points, with the longest route nearly 500 miles from the Spain-France border, which lead to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where Saint James the Great is said to be buried.

Antonio Fernandez, a resident of Lastres, told Spain's EFE news agency that the signs are found to be so amusing they have become an attraction.

Some pilgrims will walk nearly 500 miles (800 kilometres) to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Pilgrims and other visitors are now stopping to pose for photos with them, he added.

Two other residents, Jose Ramon Fernandez and his wife, Maria Paz, said they were surprised the warning signs were posted, as the pilgrims 'are very polite' and 'always friendly'.

Lantres is a parish in Santos, and its mayor said 'it makes no sense' that there are no public facilities for pilgrims at regular points during their long journey on the historic route.

Julio Gallego told the Spanish newspaper La Voz de Galicia that it is a 'huge failure' that needs to be remedied.