Edinburgh West Liberal Democrat MP Mike Crockart has welcomed plans to improve broadband provision in rural communities surrounding the Scottish capital.

Despite being located close to the city, areas like Kirkliston, Ratho, Ratho Station, Dalmeny and South Queensferry have traditionally struggled with slow broadband - but this is set to change thanks to a recently announced £247 million national investment in the technology.

The scheme has been praised by Mr Crockart, a long-time campaigner for better broadband, who noted that the short distance between the Gyle and Ratho Station is effectively "the difference between Glasgow and the Outer Hebrides" when internet speeds are considered.

"It's immensely frustrating. People can get better coverage by sitting on their doorstep and trying to catch an Airlink bus going past," he was quoted by the Scotsman as saying.

Thanks to previous investment, Gyle is able to access broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps. However, residents in Ratho Station struggle to receive 1Mbps speeds, which Mr Crockart described as "functionally useless" for services like streaming.

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