A curling rink used by hundreds of participants will close in the spring.

The rink at intu Braehead will close at the end of the current curling season in March, during the same week Glasgow hosts the World Men's Curling Championships at the Emirates Arena.

Alan Hannah, chairman of Braehead Curling Development Group, described the closure as "sad news" in a statement on Friday.

He also said the group would take a "lead role" in sourcing an alternative venue on behalf of the 700 people who used the facility.

Mr Hannah said: "Our first port of call is to consult with the members. We will gauge the mood tomorrow and Wednesday to see what their opinions are.

"A lot of people are putting ideas forward so it's about sifting through those and finding a meaningful and workable solution."

Peter Beagley, centre director for intu Braehead, said it was "with deep regret" that the decision to announce the rink's closure was taken.

He added: "We haven't taken this decision lightly, however with the declining numbers of people involved in the sport, we have had to increasingly subsidise the rink over the past 20 years which is something we can't continue to do.

"We have spoken with the clubs impacted and will now work closely with them to provide what support we can to find them a new home.

"We are now also looking at other ways in which we might use this space going forwards and hope to be able to share more information on this over the coming months."