Historic Linlithgow has scooped a major international award.

The West Lothian town received the sought-after Bronze award at the finals of the International Awards for Liveable Communities, or LivCom Awards, in China recently.

Linlithgow was the only Scottish finalist at the ceremony, which recognises communities who go that extra mile to make their area a better place to live.

Council Leader Peter Johnston said: "I am delighted that the excellent work being done in Linlithgow to promote environmental improvements and sustainable living has been recognised at this prestigious world wide awards ceremony.

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"Linlithgow has been recognised as being a world leader in delivering the very best in heritage management and in taking local action to combat global issues.

"This is a fantastic achievement in itself but we have also learned a great deal from the Liveable Community family which I believe we can put into practice locally to make Linlithgow and West Lothian a much better place to live, work and play in."

Linlithgow was shortlisted in the award category for towns with a population of up to 20,000 and faced opposition from finalists from Ireland, Canada, Australia, China and Belgium.

Councillor Martyn Day, who chairs the Linlithgow Local Area Committee, added: "It's a terrific achievement to win a Bronze award and I?d like to congratulate everyone involved.

"The Livcom awards have been an ideal way to showcase Linlithgow's many attractions on the world stage, which we hope will result in a welcome tourism boost for the town.

"I hope we can do better next time and claim a Gold award for Linlithgow in the future."

The LivCom Awards were launched in 1997 and are endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme. This year's finals were held in Dongguan, China, from 6-10 November.

(GK/JM)