A batch of blue cheese linked to a fatal E Coli outbreak last year has been seized by South Lanarkshire Council.

Following tests, the food examiner said the batch of Lanark Blue had tested positive for E Coli and judged it "unfit for human consumption".

Council officers took the batch on Friday from producer Errington Cheese, based in Carnwath, and will seek approval from a sheriff to destroy it along with other batches of the same cheese.

The cheese-maker has repeatedly insisted its products are suitable for consumption despite a blanket ban on all the firm's items imposed by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) following last July's E Coli outbreak.

A three-year-old child died after contracting the illness, which affected a total of 20 people.

The FSS said an Errington Cheese product, Dunsyre Blue, was the "likely cause" of the outbreak but the sales ban imposed by the FSS was ruled "unlawful" in an interim court order last Friday.

Its ruling led to South Lanarkshire Council's latest round of actions.

The local authority further announced new 21-day detention notices against 72 batches of Corra Linn cheese, also produced by the firm, so further tests can be carried out to check if the product is unsafe.

It is also considering a proposal from the firm that its Dunsyre Blue cheese could be placed on the market on the condition it is sold and clearly labelled as a raw ingredient which requires to be cooked.

Michael McGlynn, the council's executive director of community and enterprise, said: "From the outset the council's clear and primary objective has been exactly what the public and consumers would expect it to be - to do everything we can to protect public health.

"Throughout this process we have sought to carry out that important duty while acting appropriately and proportionately in terms of the Food Alert for Action issued by Food Standards Scotland and the relevant food legislation.

"We are continuing to do this through today's actions."

He added: "To ensure public health we are removing one type of cheese which tests have identified as unsafe and we will seek to put this cheese before a sheriff asking that they be condemned.

"However, we will continue to undertake thorough testing and analysis to determine whether it is appropriate to allow Errington Cheese to market the remaining products."

The Lanarkshire firm's founder, Humphrey Errington, was sharply critical of the conduct of the FSS and the council.

Speaking to STV News, he said: "For the last six months they've been telling the public our cheese is unfit to eat and they've done everything they can to avoid what we asked for, which was the chance to see their evidence and have a court decide whether their evidence stood up or not.

"Last week, we were able to get a judgment from the Court of Session that [South Lanarkshire Council] had been acting unlawfully and the judge had told them that they must act within the law by this Friday.

"In order to act within the law they either had to release the cheese to sell it or to seize it, and now they have to take the evidence which they say they have for its unfitness to eat to a sheriff."

Mr Errington said the ongoing deadlock with the FSS and South Lanarkshire Council has "paralysed" his business, costing the firm around £350,000 in sales and leading to all 12 of his former staff being laid off.

He added: "They've shown us the results of the tests they've done - although they've not shown us the full details - and we've had expert microbiologists look at their tests and their conclusion is they have not found a pathogen and they're misunderstanding their test results.

"Over the past six months we've repeatedly asked Food Standards Scotland to meet with us so we can talk about it and they've either ignored our requests or said no.

"We just don't understand. We shouldn't have to be in court - we should have been able to resolve these matters in discussion across a table."

Mr Errington added press releases issued by the FSS as the situation developed over the past six months "have been defamatory, frankly".