West Scotland MSP Jamie Greene has called for the Scottish Government to take urgent action over "accident hotspot" roads in North Ayrshire.

In the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, the Conservative MSP asked the First Minister for an update on upgrades to Scottish roads, including several in North Ayrshire.

He used the question during FMQs to highlight the poor state of many roads in south-west Scotland, citing the A737 among many more.

Mr Greene said that “far too many single carriageway roads are accident hotspots”, and went on to say over 450 lives had been tragically lost on Scotland’s roads over the last three years.

He then asked the First Minister whether any major road-building projects or upgrades promised by the SNP Government will no longer go ahead as a direct result of the Bute House agreement.

In response, the First Minister suggested there had been difficulties as a result of UK government funding, but did not directly answer Mr Greene’s question.

The MSP later said that upgrading transport infrastructure in North Ayrshire is not only vital for the local economy, but will help prevent lives being needlessly lost on our roads.

And he claimed successive SNP transport ministers had failed to prioritise the safety needs of road users in North Ayrshire. 

He called on the new transport minister, Fiona Hyslop, to take action on the issue and create a proper plan for the upgrading of roads in Scotland.

Mr Greene said: “It was disappointing to hear the First Minister’s non-committal response to my question yesterday. However, the Scottish Government’s poor record on road safety is an issue I will continue to raise in Parliament.

“Road traffic deaths are at their highest level since 2016, but I’m not seeing any urgency at all from the Scottish Government.

“As we have sadly seen, inaction and incompetence when it comes to repairing our roads has the potential to cost lives.

“It should not be a discussion about if those roads will receive upgrade investment; it should be a conversation about when they will receive that investment.”