There will be a boom in the number of Scottish homes offered free or discounted insulation this year.

A further 90,000 homes will be offered loft and cavity wall insulation in 10 council areas across Scotland covering the islands, cities, rural towns and surrounding villages.

This will almost double the number of homes which will be visited by energy assessors to 190,000 homes during the first year of the Scottish Government's ground-breaking Home Insulation Scheme.

It includes the rural parts of Stirling now being done in addition to the original plan for the whole city, the whole of the Orkney Isles and the remaining parts of the Western Isles.

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The measures will cut average energy bills by 61 pounds a year and by 2,445 pounds over the 40 year lifetime of the insulation.

Top-up's will be offered free to everyone who already has loft insulation that is not up to the recognised standard.

A third of all the heat lost in an uninsulated home is through the walls. Typically, a quarter of the heat in an uninsulated home is lost through the roof.

Visiting a property in Edinburgh getting cavity wall insulation today through the scheme, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "Our ambition is to create a low-carbon Scotland and help households cut their fuel bills. These are modern measures for modern times and will help us achieve Scotland's world-leading climate change targets.

"The freezing conditions this winter reminded us all how important it is to keep the heat in our homes - everyone wants to save money, it's the smart thing to do and we will continue to help Scottish households do just that."

(GK/BMcC)