Final bids have been submitted in the tendering process for the £1bn Clyde and Hebrides ferry services.

Publicly owned Calmac is competing with UK ferry firm Serco for the eight-year contract to operate ferries on 26 routes covering the west coast of Scotland.

Both firms submitted initial tenders to the Scottish Government in December.

They were the only companies which applied to bid for the contract, despite the government extending the usual six-year deal to eight years.

West coast ferries are currently operated by Calmac but Serco won the contract for sailings to Shetland and Orkney in 2012.

The west coast contract will be awarded in May 2016 and take effect in October.

The Scottish Government's transport agency, Transport Scotland, has been running a competitive process to select the provider of the next contract.

Calmac chief executive Martin Dorchester has previously said he is "confident" of winning the contract, however a spokesman for Serco also said it was confident of securing the deal.

Calmac and Serco's final bids were submitted on Monday.

Commenting on its submission, Serco bid director Jonathan Riley said: "After two years of eating, sleeping and breathing Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services I am delighted to confirm that we have submitted our communities-led ferries proposal.

"My team spent a great deal of time on hundreds of visits to the islands sitting down and talking to people and it was these conversations that inspired a great deal of our proposal.

"They know what they need, and it’s up to us, the transport experts to collaborate and deliver a better service plan. So that’s what we have done.

"I am confident that our proposal will improve the services for the people."