Ayr and Kilmarnock have been included on a list of 27 areas where human trafficking has been uncovered by police.

A campaign has been launched to challenge perceptions that the crime is confined to just major cities.

Research shows that 54% of people don't believe it's a problem in their community, but the number of potential trafficking victims has risen by 50% in just three years.

Justice secretary Michael Matheson branded it an "appalling abuse of human rights".

Human trafficking involves adults and children being traded and exploited for personal benefit. Victims are often sexually exploited, forced to work as servants or perform forced labour.

Almost 100 suspected victims have been intercepted at Glasgow Airport in the last nine months.

Meanwhile, raids on 80 premises across Scotland earlier this year resulted the rescue of a 15-year-old girl.

The number of people being identified as victims is rising and of the 34 people rescued between April and June last year, at least six were trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation - including one child.

The majority of trafficking victims in Scotland are from Vietnam, while others are from countries including Nigeria, China, Poland, and India.