Clydebank’s MSP is calling on the Bankie banter to prove how good it is once again after giving her backing to a primary school joke competition.

Marie McNair MSP is supporting VoiceBox, a Scotland-wide gag event for pupils in primary one to seven designed by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) to raise awareness of the fun and importance of communication.

Pupils with the funniest jokes can be nominated by their school and will be in with a chance of being selected as one of the 32 local authority finalists invited to attend the National Final in the Scottish Parliament on June 6.

And Miss McNair believes the legendry local humour the area is well-known for hold its own against the rest of the country when it comes to who is the funniest.

The MSP said: “This is a really great competition with an important underlying cause and lets young people tap into their creative side.

“It is an excellent way to get the classroom laughing and help promote good communication skills for children.

“I know we have a lot of banter and a good sense of humour in our local area, so I’m sure pupils across Clydebank will have some good jokes!”

All finalists will receive £100 worth of HarperCollins books, and the pupils with the three best jokes will receive a toy gift card worth up to £100 and up to £500 worth of Collins Big Cat books for their school.

The RCSLT – the professional body for speech and language therapists – hopes the nationwide competition will bring confidence in young people as well as laughter.

Head of RCSLT Scotland, Glenn Carter, said: “The VoiceBox competition aims to remind people that all children need support to build their communication skills and confidence.

“In every classroom, there are children who need extra help with speaking and understanding.

“With appropriate support around the child, including from a speech and language therapist, we can see significant improvements in their learning, interaction skills, confidence and wellbeing.

“Communication impacts on how we interact with other people, how we understand them and, in turn, how we are understood. Every child has a basic right to communicate, and they should be supported to do so.”