North Ayrshire Council are to seeking an urgent meeting with Scotland's transport secretary over the future of Ardrossan Harbour.

They took a unanimous decision after listening to Arran councillor Timothy Billings on the "devastation" caused to islanders in the last week since the ferry moved from Ardrossan to Troon.

That was caused by Ardrossan harbour's run-down Irish berth being closed for good by owners Peel Ports - meaning secondary ferry MV Alfred could no longer sail from Ardrossan.

Bad weather and repairs to the one remaining operational berth at Ardrossan have meant the route's relief ferry, MV Isle of Arran, has run to and from Troon since Thursday, February 8.

An announcement on whether services would be able to resume to and from Ardrossan at the end of this week was due as a full meeting of NAC was taking place on February 14 - but CalMac says Peel Ports' work means it won't now be able to provide that update until Thursday.

The 40-year-old MV Isle of Arran is providing cover on the route because the regular ferry, MV Caledonian Isles, has had its annual overhaul extended by more than a month after it was found to need additional repairs.

Councillor Billings told the meeting: "Ardrossan is the best harbour for this service, and we implore the Scottish Government to act.

"It is impossible to describe, in the time I have, the devastation that's been caused to Arran as a result of the appalling ferry service we are experiencing.

"The level of service has reached a new low with the temporary transfer to Troon.

"The chaos and hardship experienced during the last week is totally unacceptable.

"This has been predicted by many people, over many years, and some people should be hanging their heads in shame. I feel quite cross about this."

Chief executive Craig Hatton said a report commissioned by NAC on the harbour from the Fraser of Allander Institute had now been submitted to Transport Scotland who are now assessing it - though he did not reveal any of the detail in that report.

Work on the harbour upgrade - promised by Humza Yousaf in 2018 when he was Scotland's transport minister - is still nowhere near beginning after Transport Scotland ordered a review last summer amid concern at rising costs.

That sparked fears that the service could permanently shift to Troon - causing economic devastation to Ardrossan and Arran.

Councillor Billings said: "Everyone needs the maximum ferry capacity position to keep going forward.

"We want two ferries operating on Arran and as the Caledonian Isles will be out of service, we need the MV Alfred to step in.

"Troon must be fully operation with ticketing and pricing facilities for the Easter holidays."

He said some passengers to Troon, who had already faced a much longer crossing than usual, were appalled to find no parking facilities, no wheelchair access and just a shuttle bus service to transport them to Troon railway station or Ardrossan harbour to pick up their vehicles.

His motion called on the council to instruct Mr Hatton to write to the relevant cabinet secretary, Mairi McAllan, and urge her to start the Ardrossan harbour work without delay.

He said: "We must write to all the people involved to state our concerns at the detrimental effect on residents and businesses."

Councillor Tony Gurney (SNP, Ardrossan) said the closure of the Irish berth was taken by Peel Ports with no warning.

Adding an amendment to the motion, he said: "Peel Ports do what they want, whenever they want.

"We should write to Peel Ports and express our disappointment and urge them to bring the Irish berth back into operation as soon as possible."

The amendment was accepted by Councillor Billings and the motion was carried unanimously.