Triple axe murderer Thomas McCulloch has been allowed out of prison to take a course on how to chop down trees.
In 1976, McCulloch was convicted along with his gay lover Robert Mone of butchering a nurse, a patient and a policeman at a hospital in Scotland.
And although he is serving a life sentence, he's been allowed out of jail to complete a course at an Aberdeenshire nature reserve.
Pictures of a triumphant McCulloch receiving his certificate for completing the course have even appeared in prison magazine The Gallery.
The 63-year-old also helped carry out a lizard survey.
A prison source told Scottish paper The Daily Record: 'All prisoners going on courses are vetted but I don't think its a good idea to let a murderer like McCulloch near sharp implements such as axes and secateurs -that could be a disaster waiting to happen.'
McCulloch's axe murders shocked Scotland as he was already serving time for violent crime when the pair broke out of the secure mental hospital and went on their rampage.
McCulloch had tried to kill two hotel staff in a row over a sandwich while his lover Mone shot dead a pregnant teacher in a siege at his old Dundee school.
As well as the horrific murders the pair also maimed two workmen and held a family hostage in their home.
McCulloch was released into the community last year but hounded out of a council house in Dumbarton by angry residents.
He is now at Noranside Open Prison, Angus.
He used European human rights legislation in 2002 to have his term fixed at 30 years, making his eventual release inevitable.
Officials are now frantically searching for a home for McCulloch after he rejected the new identity and councils across Scotland refused to accommodate him.
