The Malaysian mountain at the centre of an international incident when a British backpacker was jailed for an X-rated stunt has been closed to tourists.

The British government last week issued advice to travellers warning that climbing activities on Mount Kinabalu are expected to be suspended until September.

The mountain was badly damaged by a 5.9-magnitude earthquake at the weekend.

Reports said the peak would be shut for at least three weeks

Reports in Malaysia said the peak would be closed for at least three weeks, although the British government said the restrictions would be in place for longer.

The most recent quake came a month after 18 people were killed and hundreds stranded when the same mountain was struck by a similar natural disaster.

Locals blamed a group of tourists ­– including British university graduate Eleanor Hawkins, 23, from Draycott in Derbyshire – for triggering last month’s quake by “showing disrespect to the sacred mountain” when she and others stripped off for a photograph at the summit.

The aeronautical engineering graduate was arrested with three others, fined 5,000 Malaysian ringgit (€1,186) and sentenced to three days in jail – which she had already served – at a court hearing in Kota Kinabalu, before heading back to the UK where she made a tearful public apology.

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