WEST Dunbartonshire has recorded its highest number of deaths related to Covid-19 since January, new figures have confirmed.

Ten lives have been lost to the virus in the area in the latest weekly statistics, the highest amount in nine months when 12 deaths related to Covid-19 were confirmed.

The latest figures released by the National Records of Scotland cover the period from Monday, October 4 to Sunday, October 10.

The news comes after the local authority area saw two deaths from Covid the previous week.

This puts West Dunbartonshire as the second highest death rate for the past week behind only Glasgow, which recorded 14 deaths. West Lothian was third with nine deaths up to October 10.

West Dunbartonshire held an extended period as one of the worst areas for Covid infections in Scotland, but now finds itself outside of the top 10.

For the week to October 9, West Dunbartonshire had 271 confirmed positive Covid tests, giving a rate of 306.8 positive tests per 100,000 people.

By comparison, for the week to October 2, West Dunbartonshire's infection rate was 353.2 cases per 100,000 residents.

And for the week to September 26 the rate stood at 615.8 per 100,000 people.

The number of deaths in West Dunbartonshire in which Covid was mentioned on the death certificate now stands at 96 since the beginning of this year, and 274 since the start of the pandemic.