Rothesay primary pupils have visited the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo pandas courtesy of Scottish Water’s contractors on a major project in town, which has just been completed.

A total of 39 kids from Rothesay, North Bute and St Andrew’s primary schools visited the Zoo on Tuesday, June 26 to see Giant Pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang, which arrived in Scotland last December on a 10-year loan from China.

The children, who were accompanied by Scottish Water’s project manager Stuart Flaws, regional community manager Jane MacKenzie, and regional project communications adviser Christina Rowe, won the trip in a competition to draw pictures and compose limericks about water and pandas.

Mrs MacKenzie said: “Scottish Water organised the competition for the school pupils, and our contractors in Rothesay, Euro Environmental Group (EEG), hosted the trip to Edinburgh Zoo.

“It was a very successful trip and was a great way to thank the local community for their patience and understanding while we progressed with the project in the town.”

The £900,000 project involved improvements to about 1.5 miles of waste water pipes in Rothesay to tackle problems caused by saltwater intrusion to the pipes.

Large sections of pipe were cleaned and re-lined with cured plastic. The work, which involved repairs to manholes and cutting back tree roots, has improved the condition and efficiency of our assets and the process at the waste water treatment works.

It was carried out in various streets, including Argyle Street, MacKinlay Street, Victoria Street, Esplanade, Wellpark Road, Craigmore Road, Battery Place, East Princes Street, West Princes Street, Montague Street, Guildford Square, Bogany Road, Leopold Road, Gallowgate and Mountstuart Road.

Mr Flaws said: “The saltwater ingress had been causing some operational problems and Scottish Water is delighted to have completed this key project to improve our infrastructure and services to local residents, businesses and visitors to the Rothesay area.”

Mrs McKenzie added: “Most of this work was done through existing manholes, without the need for excavations or any major traffic management.

"There was some very minor traffic management required during the project but we made every effort to minimise any inconvenience to road users and customers.

“Scottish Water would like to thank our customers in Rothesay for their patience and understanding while this important improvement work was carried out.

"We are sure that they will appreciate that any temporary inconvenience is far out-weighed by the long-term benefits this investment will bring to the area.”