CLYDEBANK’S retired MSP has called on the renowned Cochno Stone to be given special environmental protection.

Gil Paterson says he’s been “amazed” at the interest shown in the stone, in Auchnacraig Park in Faifley, since it was excavated in 2016.

The stone is one of the largest and most spectacular panels of prehistoric rock-art in Britain.

The markings on the stone’s surface were probably carved between 3000 and 2000BC.

The carvings were first recorded in the 1880s, but the stone was buried in 1965 to protect it from vandalism before being excavated five years ago.

Mr Paterson - for whom today (Wednesday) is his last day as the town’s MSP - said: “I have been working with Dr Kenny Brophy of Glasgow University, the Knowes Housing Association, Faifley Community Council, West Dunbartonshire Council, Historic Environment Scotland and local schools and organisations since 2016, when Kenny and his team first excavated the site of the Cochno Stone revealing just how important it was to our cultural heritage.

“I have been amazed by the public and academic interest shown and the desire to protect the site and display the Stone to a wider audience, so I have written to West Dunbartonshire Council [WDC] and asked them to assess the merits of designating the site at Auchnacraig and the surrounding Faifley Rock Art locations as a Local Landscape Area (LLA).

“There is no doubt in my mind that the Cochno Stone and the surrounding cup and ring markings are in an area of significant archaeological importance and therefore a treasured unique landscape which is part of West Dunbartonshire’s cultural heritage and should be protected so I hope the designation is forthcoming.”

It’s hoped that designation - which only WDC has the power to enact - will protect the area from inappropriate development as well as enabling greater public access to the stone.

A WDC spokesperson said: “The council is aware of the request and will give consideration to making the Cochno Stone a Local Landscape Area in the future.”