A Saltcoats man who lost his grandmother to coronavirus last month has written a message of encouragement to Three Towns residents amid a fresh lockdown due to the new, faster-spreading strain of the virus.

Antony Foster wrote the words ‘Stay Positive’ on Saltcoats beach this morning in a bid to keep the community’s spirits up amid tough times.

He told the Herald: “I've been suffering from insomnia recently so I went a walk between 6.30am and 7am this morning to try and see if I could get some pictures for people to see and to clear my head.

“I lost my gran on December 19 due to COVID-19 complications and my depression has been creeping back in.

“I wrote the message in the sand as a message to myself and any others who are struggling to stay positive during this time. They need to know this is only short term, and things will get better.

“All we see is negative news, shops closing, businesses closing down, people passing away and it feels like it is never ending and due to the restrictions Saltcoats itself is becoming a ghost town and it's really sad to see. So my message to those who are struggling is stay positive, things will get better.”