Scotland's economic growth continues to lag behind the UK as a whole, official Scottish Government statistics show.

Between July and September last year, the country's economy expanded by 0.2%.

During the same period the UK as a whole experienced economic growth of 0.4%.

The UK-wide economy increased at more than double the pace of Scotland's over the previous 12-months, with growth north of the border reaching just 0.6% compared to the national figure of 1.7%.

The Scottish Government's economy secretary Keith Brown described the figures as "more modest than we would like" but said the fact that there was expansion in the economy was "heartening".

He said: "Despite the impact that continued Brexit uncertainty is having on our economy, today's figures demonstrate the resilience of the Scottish economy with the third consecutive quarter of positive growth."

The statistics show a challenging quarter for the construction sector, with output falling by 2.9%.

Better news was to be found in the services sector, which grew by 0.2%, and in the production, which experienced an expansion of 1.2%.

Scottish secretary David Mundell said: "These latest GDP figures show the Scottish economy growing, but much more slowly than we would like, and continuing to lag behind that of the rest of the UK."

He added: "With Scotland's exports to the rest of the UK worth four times more than those to the EU, today's GDP figures are a stark reminder that we need to protect the vital UK internal market."