US tycoon Donald Trump has written to First Minister Alex Salmond, warning him Scotland can "never" become independent under his leadership because wind farms will destroy the country's tourism industry.

Mr Trump, who opposes plans for an offshore wind farm to be built near the site of his luxury golf resort in Aberdeenshire, said Mr Salmond was "single-handedly destroying the economic well-being of a great country".

The letter comes a week after the businessman appeared before a Scottish Parliament committee investigating the Scottish Government's renewable energy targets.

A planning application for an 11-turbine wind farm off Aberdeen Bay was submitted to Marine Scotland last summer and a decision is expected to be made later this year. Mr Trump has halted work on his resort until the decision is made by the Scottish Government.

In his letter addressed to Mr Salmond, he wrote: "Inward investors everywhere are reading the headlines and concluding that Scotland is no longer a secure place to invest because of the fact you are single-handedly destroying the economic well-being of a great country.

"Scotland can never become independent under your leadership because thousands of industrial wind turbines will destroy your tourism sector and are not economically viable without the substantial help of your already overburdened taxpayers - sadly you will not be able to exist without the financial help of England."

He also told the First Minister to "stop your mad march into oblivion with these very expensive and highly inefficient (and extremely ugly) industrial turbines".

Last week Mr Trump told Holyrood's Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee that he was an expert on tourism and opinion polls, and rejected suggestions that he was using opposition to the offshore development as a face-saving exercise to pull out.

He offered support to technologies such as wave power but said that wind turbines would mean "almost a total destruction" of tourism.

Mr Trump ended his letter by saying: "Focus on hydro, wave or tidal power and other forms of renewable energy like other countries who have abandoned wind power are doing.

"Your idea of independence is 'Gone With The Wind'."