A woman's body has been recovered from the River Clyde after a car plunged into the water.

Emergency services were in attendance after reports of a vehicle entering the river near Braehead shopping centre at around 1.20pm on Thursday.

Witnesses told STV News a woman was seen driving the car erratically, hitting several parked vehicles before careering through a metal fence and into the river.

Police divers were deployed to the scene, which is close to the Braehead Soar entertainment complex, formerly known as Xscape.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Around 1.20pm on Thursday, police received a report of a car entering the River Clyde near to Lapwing Road, Renfrew.

"A search and rescue operation was immediately launched involving officers from Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and HM Coastguard.

"A full search of the water surface has been conducted by divers from Police Scotland's Marine Unit and a woman has now been recovered from the vehicle.

"She was the only person in the car. A post mortem examination will take place in due course to establish the exact cause of death."

A coastguard helicopter attended the incident, while fire engines and ambulances were also called.

One resident who asked not to be named said: "I heard a loud noise and minutes later there were police everywhere then the helicopter arrived.

"I heard that it was a woman driving alone."

Police cordoned off the entire Clyde View Park by the scene as officers attempted to establish the exact circumstances of how the vehicle came to enter the water.

The car, thought to be a blue Peugeot Horizon with a disabled sticker on the back window, was pulled out of the water by a recovery vehicle at around 7pm.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact officers at Greenock Police Office through the 101 number.