An army Shetland Pony who made the news after trying to eat the Queen's posy has earned a promotion.

The Royal Regiment of Scotland's mascot, Lance Corporal Cruachan 4th, can now add another stripe to his ceremonial uniform after being made a Corporal.

Cruachan, aged nine, is based at Edinburgh's Redford Barracks and has been the official mascot of the regiment since his current stablemate and companion, Cruachan 3rd, retired in September 2012 after more than 20 years in the role.

His handler, Pony Major Mark Wilkinson, has been with him since then and has trained him in the drill and etiquette skills required for his high-profile ceremonial role.

Since taking on the job, Cruachan and Major Wilkinson have led countless parades and attended hundreds of regimental events all over the world, including many in the presence of the Queen and other members of the Royal Family.

This summer, Cruachan made global headlines when he was caught on camera attempting to eat the Queen's posy of flowers during an official visit to Stirling Castle.

It follows an incident last year when, in a documentary entitled The Day I Met The Queen to commemorate her 90th birthday, he ate presenter Carol Kirkwood's glove.

A spokesman for the Army in Scotland said: "Cruachan is a very special colleague to everyone in the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

"He delights all members of the public who meet him, young and old.

"We always reward hard work in the Army and he thoroughly deserves his promotion to Corporal.

"With any luck, if he keeps his nose out of posies and away from royal fingers in the future, he can keep those two stripes!"

Cruachan has spent the summer at Balmoral as part of the Royal Guard, during the Queen's annual residence at her Balmoral estate.

He was promoted to Corporal after a summer of exemplary work.

Cruachan and his handler have also appeared in front of hundreds of thousands of audience members at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, where they have led the Guard of Honour at the show's finale on many occasions.

Along with every other candidate for promotion, Cruachan had to attend his promotion course at Redford Barracks' Army Education Centre and left with a certificate and a brilliant report from his instructors.