Joyriders stole a bus before racing through a town and abandoning it on football pitches.

The McGill's bus was stolen from the company's Old Greenock Road yard in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire.

Thieves drove through Renfrew for more than a mile before destroying Kirklandneuk playing fields by performing doughnuts on the grass at 6.30am on Sunday.

Inspector Jim Cast said: "Stealing the coach and driving it for over a mile was an incredibly dangerous and reckless act made even worse by the fact so much damage was caused to a well-used community football pitch.

"We are appealing to anyone who may have been in the area of the McGill's depot in Old Greenock Road around 6.30am on Sunday to think back and consider if they saw anyone acting suspiciously.

"I would also urge motorists to check dashcam footage to see if the stolen bus may have been captured heading towards Renfrew. If you saw the bus being driven across the pitches or people running away from the scene."

Ralph Roberts, McGill's managing director, added: "We can confirm an intruder broke into our Inchinnan depot in the early hours of Sunday morning.

"We are working closely with Police Scotland to identify the criminal who stole our vehicle. This was an extremely dangerous act, and it is very lucky no one was injured."

Councillor John Shaw, who represents the Renfrew North and Braehead ward, reported the incident to the police.

Posting on social media, he said: "I had written to the managing director of McGill's Buses earlier to see if there was anything they could do either through their insurances or their community engagement to assist in having the damage repaired to the football parks at Kirklandneuk both during the initial theft of the vehicle and the consequent recovery.

"I received a very speedy response stating that whilst the insurances were a no-go they would be 'happy to discuss what we can do to help'.

"We may have other service concerns with the company at the moment but their speedy and positive response is commendable, particularly given they too were a victim of this crime.

"I would urge anyone with any information on this mindless act to contact Police Scotland on 101."