The opening of the Queensferry Crossing over the River Forth has been delayed for a second time.

The new road bridge connecting Edinburgh to Fife will not open to traffic until sometime between mid-July and the end of August, economy secretary Keith Brown told MSPs on Wednesday.

He told members of Holyrood's rural economy and connectivity committee contractors are "now advising that the opening to traffic date is more likely to be between mid-July and the end of August".

Mr Brown added: "To put that into context, that's around four to ten-week delay on a six-year construction programme.

"The precise opening date will depend on the amount of weather downtime which occurs in the coming weeks, with the latest date being based on weather similar to that which we have seen in February and March."

The £1.35bn structure was originally to open in December 2016, but this was pushed back, with Brown saying it was "on schedule" to open in May.

In January, contractors warned the May opening date was "realistic but not guaranteed."

Bad weather has been blamed for the delays, with high winds and low temperatures said to have hampered efforts to finish the construction project.

Mr Brown told MSPs a review found the project could now not be completed by the revised May date even if there were no weather cancellations.

He said the delays caused weather-dependent work to "bunch together" and become interdependent instead of sequential.

The Queensferry Crossing will replace the Forth Road Bridge.

Once complete, the 1.7-mile structure will be the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world and the largest to feature cables which cross mid-span, according to the Queensferry Crossing project website.