A West Dunbartonshire garden centre has been fined for discharging insufficiently-treated sewage into a local waterway.
The owner of Loch Lomond Homes and Gardens Centre, Cowal Building and Plumbing Supplies, will have to pay £2,000 for not having an appropriate system in place for dealing with sewage on the site.

Cowal was licensed to discharge treated sewage into Ballagan Burn, but the Scottish Environment Protection Agency found that samples taken from the burn fell short of requirements. The company had failed to install extra sewage treatment, as ordered.

Cowal, which has now spent £40,000 on upgrading its facilities and is fully compliant, apologised for the drop in its sewage standards and for any subsequent harm to the environment. It said it had not originally been able to afford to improve the facilities and had been concerned that it might have to close the business.