First Minister, John Swinney has said he will look into ongoing issues in New Cumnock apparently relating to nearby restoration work.

Locals have been unhappy about alleged waste dumping at a vacant spot of land on Castle for a number of months.

The issue, which involves lorries parking up overnight, has been raised with the likes of East Ayrshire Council and The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

READ MORE: New Cumnock residents concerned about dumped 'human excrement'

South Scotland MSP, Sharon Dowey also said she would be writing to the relevant authorities about the issue, before she raised her concerns at parliament last week.

Speaking at the meeting of the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, September 5, Ms Dowey said: "Residents of New Cumnock have raised concerns about raw sewage being dumped in the area, under the guise of a land restoration project.

"Locals believe that to be a health and safety hazard that is contaminating watercourses and affecting businesses, forcing them to close their doors due to the stench.

"This is not the first time that the issue of waste dumping has been raised in the area.

"I have been raising the issue of Tarbolton Moss landfill site for more than three years, but little progress has been made.

"I therefore ask the First Minister what checks are made on land that has been designated for restoration projects and what measures are in place to ensure that discarded waste materials comply with regulations?"

Garleffan and Grievehill.Garleffan and Grievehill. (Image: NQ Archive)

John Swinney responded by saying that action must be taken for the sake of the locals.

He said: "Sharon Dowey has put on the record some very concerning points that sound to me to be wholly unacceptable.

"The regulatory authorities - Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency - should undertake scrutiny of those issues, along with the local authority.

"If Sharon Dowey would like to furnish me with more information, I will certainly raise it with the relevant regulatory authorities, because her constituents should not have to endure that experience."

A local action group is to be set up in New Cumnock to tackle the issue long-term.

East Ayrshire Council has said measures will be put in place to stop lorries from parking overnight, while SEPA has said that they are monitoring the situation and confirmed that they had been contacted by MSP Dowey about the situation.

SEPA added that representatives had been made aware of concerns about vehicles transporting sewage sludge to the Garleffan and Grievehill former opencast mining site near New Cumnock.