A highly complex operation has started to remove nine old cars abandoned in a reservoir at a Paisley beauty spot.
A team from Scottish Water is now on the scene at Gleniffer Braes Country Park to drain the water away to allow for the rusty and rotting wrecks to be moved in the coming weeks.
The illegally dumped vehicles have been submerged in the water at Lower Glen Dam - known locally as Linn Reservoir - for a number of years.
After months of delays, bosses at Scottish Water have announced the delicate removal operation has now started following "lengthy and meticulous planning", with workers aiming to have the cars removed at the beginning of March.
Acting on calls from the local community for the cars to be removed, Scottish Water has worked with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Ayrshire Rivers Trust, and contractors George Leslie Ltd to ensure the environment and the removal team are kept safe during the course of the operation.
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This work involves gradually lowering the water level of the reservoir to a safe level to mitigate any environmental impact and allow the removal operation to get underway.
It's understood that a team of divers will be involved in the operation to remove the cars once the water is low enough.
For health and safety reasons, pathways around the reservoir will be closed off to members of the public while the cars are pulled from the water.
Project manager Gerry O’Hara said: “We’ve listened to community concerns about the vehicles being in the water and now is the time to act.
“This is such a delicate and sensitive operation and has been months in the planning to ensure there is as little impact on the environment as possible and that our teams are safe.
“Restrictions are in place for everyone’s safety and we would ask visitors to Gleniffer Braes Country Park to respect all signage around the reservoir while these works are carried out.”
Additional mitigation measures will be in place to help avoid any impact on the local water environment, and Ayrshire Rivers Trust will carry out a fish rescue operation.
Once the vehicles have been safely recovered, the water in the reservoir - which is non-operational - level will be raised back to its normal level.
The beginning of the work has been praised by councillors in Renfrewshire, who are pleased to see the cars being removed from the popular beauty spot which is well used by locals.
Paisley Southwest councillor Stephen Burns has been liaising with Scottish Water for a number of months on the removal of the cars.
The SNP councillor said: "I am delighted to see this work is finally getting underway after a long period of discussion with Scottish Water.
"There had been some delays caused by poor weather conditions as it was originally hoped this would be carried out at the end of last year.
"However, while it has taken longer than hoped, I am glad that work is finally beginning.
“It is fantastic news for residents and visitors to the Braes as this is a popular place for people to enjoy and I know there were a number of concerns regarding the smell and how unsightly it was.
“Having this cleaned up will also help to improve the local environment."
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