Completion of work on the Queensferry Crossing has been pushed back until December.

Remaining tasks on the £1.35bn bridge were due to be finished in October, with "clear up work" taking place until the end of the year.

However in a letter to the Scottish Parliament's rural economy and connectivity committee last week, a number of items have been rescheduled for completion by December.

Snagging works due to be finished include the commissioning of dehumidification and structural health monitoring systems, the commissioning of bridge control room systems, and the commissioning of tower maintenance access platforms.

The completion of internal painting and the touch-up of external painting are also scheduled for completion by December.

Transport Scotland has said that all work requiring traffic management will be carried out overnight.

The national agency highlighted that the bridge's wind barriers have kept it open more than 30 times when its predecessor, the Forth Road Bridge, would have closed, stating that it delivers "clear economic benefits for both industry and commuters".

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "Nearly 80,000 vehicles use the Queensferry Crossing each weekday.

"Since opening, there have been over 30 occasions when the new bridge has remained open where the FRB would have been closed or restricted to HGVs during severe weather.

"The new crossing is delivering clear economic benefits for both industry and commuters, a fact recognised by the road haulage industry.

"Our contractor, FCBC, is progressing snagging and finishing works, which are still scheduled for completion this year and all work requiring traffic management will be carried out overnight, minimising disruption for road users.

"Throughout the lifetime of this structure we have provided regular updates to Parliament.

"A list of outstanding work was most recently provided to the REC Committee on October 11 as part of a wider update on various transport projects.

"This follows various appearances by the cabinet secretary and transport officials during September to discuss a number of portfolio-wide issues."

The bridge across the Firth of Forth was opened in August 2017, coming in under budget but completed eight months later than first estimated.

Earlier this month, it was named best infrastructure project in the UK at this year's Rics Awards.

Judges hailed the crossing - the world's longest three-towered, cable-stayed bridge at 2633 metres - as a "worthy winner".