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Original Star Wars hero Luke Skywalker may have just arrived in Ireland for filming, but locals and Unesco are not happy about cast and crew using the island of Skellig Michael as a location.

A row has erupted over the filming of the latest Star Wars film on the protected island off Ireland's south-west coast.

Unesco has voiced concerns that cast and crew - including original Skywalker actor Mark Hamill - are disrupting wildlife on the barren outpost, while tourists and local boat operators are angry that they have been banned from visiting the site. 

Iconic Skellig Michael: Environmentalists are upset because they are unable to check on the birds

Unesco is trying to use its force to find out who authorised the secretive film shoot and a two-mile exclusion zone around the island, which has had protected status since 1996 because of its monastic ruins.

Boats and other sea vessels have been told not to sail close to the island for three days as the filming takes place, but hundreds have flocked to the sleepy village of Portmagee to catch a glimpse of the Star Wars cast.

Unesco has asked Ireland's government to produce a report explaining the decision to allow Star Wars Episode VII to take over the rocky island that rises out of the Atlantic Ocean.

In town: Cast and crew are in Portmagee, Ireland, from where they are being escorted each day to the island

Protected: The Sat Wars crew have taken over Skellig Michael for filming in recent days

In response to concerns, the Irish Film Board said permission was granted for a limited shoot after an extensive scientific analysis by the country's National Parks and Wildlife Service.

It said experts are on the island to watch out for any issues involving wildlife.

Environmentalists, including Birdwatch Ireland, are worried because filming is taking place in the middle of breeding season for native birds.

They fear the crew's presence will threaten rare birds and they are upset because they are unable to get onto the island to check on puffins, cormorants, guillemots and other birds that live there.

Secretive: Unesco claims it is not interested in who is filming but does want to know who gave permission

Puffins are one of the varieties of birds that live on the rocky island that rises from the Atlantic Ocean

Unesco, meanwhile, has expressed its own concerns about the impact on wildlife and the preservation of the heritage site.

Roni Amelan, of Unesco headquarters in Paris, said: 'We can't speculate what the filming of Star Wars on the site will do to the wildlife.

'We just know that this is going on and we have asked for information.' 

Located 12km off the coast in County Kerry, the island has been closed off to tourists as the film crew operates under a veil of secrecy.

As an Irish Navy vessel patrols the waters, sci-fi fans are gathering nearby in Portmagee, a normally quiet village, to try to catch a glimpse of the stars.

A helicopter used for the film shoot lands in a field near the sleepy village of Portmagee

Directed by JJ Abrams, Star Wars Episode VII will see the original stars of the series – Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher – reprise their iconic roles.

Filming of principal scenes has also taken place at Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire.

With a reported budget of nearly £115 pounds, Star Wars Episode VII is expected in cinemas in December 2015.