More than 200 Scottish council employees received remuneration packages of more than £100,000 in a single financial year.

North Lanarkshire Council topped the Scottish rich list with 18 employees earning in excess of £100,000 during 2016/17, according to figures obtained by the think-tank the Tax Payers' Alliance.

Across Scotland, 222 employees received six-figure remuneration packages, ten fewer than the previous year.

As well as salary, remuneration packages can include benefits in kind, expenses, bonuses, redundancy payments and employer's pension contributions.

Former Lothian Buses' financial director, Norman Strachan, topped the rich list north of the border by pocketing £563,862 during the period in question, the third highest total in the UK.

The Taxpayer's Alliance said the publicly owned firm, of which Edinburgh City Council is the majority shareholder, was included in the figures as it remains taxpayer funded.

Lothian Buses' former engineering director, Bill Devlin, also made the UK top ten highest paid employees after he earned £430,690.

Both have since left their posts, and their payments included £150,000 compensation for loss of office.

TaxPayers' Alliance chief executive John O'Connell said: "After years of excess, councils have woken up to reality and are slimming down senior management teams.

"It's good news for taxpayers that the number of very high earners is falling, but there are still far too many astronomical pay-offs for those leaving employment.

"More than £1m was spent getting rid of just five Scottish town hall staff in 2017 despite the government's supposed clampdown on golden goodbyes."