A Scottish tug of war team have defended their crown at this year's European Championships.

The Ayrshire ladies pulled together to win gold in the 520kg category against Jing Mei from Taiwan during a tense final in in Castlebar, Ireland, on Thursday.

Another Scots team from Cornhill also placed second in their category, in what's been dubbed a "tremendous" day for Scottish tug of war.

"Amazing start to #Euros19 and a happy Ayrshire camp tonight!" they tweeted after the competition.

A second Scottish team - Cornhill - also stepped onto the podium after placing second in the 560kg category.

The men's team are the first Scots to win a European medal in this category.

The team said: "We faced Swiss team Sins in the final.

"It wasn't to be gold as Sins took the title in a close final but silver is a great achievement which we thought we would never manage at this level.

"Huge congratulations to fellow Scots Ayrshire ladies who retained their 520kg title winning yet another gold, it was a tremendous day for Scottish Tug of War."

Both teams will go on to represent Scotland as the championships continue over the weekend.