High levels of pollution have been found in samples of water taken at a beach in East Lothian.

Members of the public have been advised not to swim or bathe at West beach in North Berwick.

Initial results from a sample on August 1 raised concerns over the water quality.

Further samples taken on August 5 and August 8 showed water quality had improved, with a compliance test on August 10 reaffirming this.

Another rest on Monday showed the pollution had returned, however.

The town's Milsey Bay remains unaffected.

A Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) spokesperson said: "The water quality at North Berwick (West) has a good classification, however, a sample taken at the bathing water on August 1, 2016, showed that pollution was present at an elevated level.

"Extensive investigations and additional sampling have taken place since. However, we have been unable to conclusively determine the source of this result.

"We took investigatory samples from the bathing water on August 5 and August 8 which showed a return to more typical water quality and our compliance sample on August 10 again reflected this, leading us to conclude that that the cause of the pollution had ceased."

The spokesperson added: "However, early indications from a sample taken yesterday show pollution to be present again. As such we would advise beach visitors to avoid swimming and paddling at this site.

"Our investigations will continue and we will work with our partners to resolve this issue and return the bathing water to its normal good condition.

"Our sample results show that this incident is very localised, and the bathing water at North Berwick (Milsey Bay) is unaffected."

A Sepa official was unable to say how long the warning is expected to stay in place for.