West Dunbartonshire is one of the toughest places in the UK to be a girl, according to a new survey.

Despite Scotland being "top" in the UK with three of the five local authority areas, children's charity Plan International UK found Clydebank, Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven ranked 340 out of 376, or 37th toughest.

The State of Girls' Rights in the UK 2020 report is based on measures such as child poverty and life expectancy, and the charity said girls continued to feel "fed up and frustrated" with "empty messages of female empowerment".

Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton's MSP, said: "It’s very disappointing to see that West Dunbartonshire is the one of the toughest places to be a girl in the UK.

"In this day and age, girls should not feel disempowered, unable to realise their rights, they should not feel unsafe in public, online or in schools and they should not feel like they are not heard by those in power.

"It’s vital that the Scottish Government and West Dunbartonshire Council take on board these findings and work together to address this inequality.

"If young girls in West Dunbartonshire continue to feel like they are not valued members of the community and that their voice is not heard, then we are simply letting them down and this must not be allowed to continue."

She added: "To those young women and girls I say this: never let anyone stop you from realising your potential or pursuing your dreams."

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Rose Caldwell, CEO of Plan International UK, said it was sad to see girls still felt disempowered and unable to realise their rights, with their potential "largely determined by birthplace".

He said: "Girls are told they can succeed, but they face a threat to their safety in public, online and in schools. They are told gender equality has been achieved, and yet they do not feel represented or heard by those in power.

"If adolescent girls are feeling undervalued, unheard and under-represented in public life, we as a society are letting them down. This simply cannot continue.

“The findings in this report should serve as a wake-up call for all politicians and leaders.

"Policies at national, devolved and local level are currently not going far enough to tackle inequality; introducing local 'gender champions' across the UK would make sure girls start to see real change at every level of decision-making.”