Hundreds of campaigners are to stage a protest outside Dungavel detention centre to call for its closure.

Protesters are expected to gather outside the immigration centre in South Lanarkshire on Saturday to demand an end to the policy of detaining asylum seekers and migrants.

More than 15 detention centres around the UK and several across Europe will be targeted by demonstrators as part of Trans-National Day of Action.

It comes almost a year after concerns were raised when it was found a torture victim and woman who had been raped were held at the centre.

A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Prisons (HMIP) revealed vulnerable detainees were held there despite rules in place in order to prevent such incidents.

It was also found some of those held at Dungavel had been detained for prolonged periods of time.

Campaigner Sally Martinez from the group, We Will Rise who have organised the protest, said: "We act in solidarity with those inside Dungavel, as well as the 30,000 detained nationally.

"We are sending a message that detention has no place in the Scotland or the UK."

Dungavel has attracted controversy since its establishment in 2001. Last year, it was reported 70 detainees went on hunger strike in protest against their indefinite detention and cramped living conditions.

Asylum seekers and former detainees will be among those protesting on Saturday.

One former detainee, James Mbeke, said: "We should welcome asylum seekers, not throw them in jail. It is such a terrible place to be, you have no idea when you will be released. It is inhumane, you are treated like an animal."

The Shaw Review, an independent review commissioned by Westminster this year, raised concerns over accommodation and the use of open-ended detention, with three of those held at Dungavel, said to have been there for more than one year.

Around 400 campaigners attended a protest outside Dungavel in May last year.

Trade union groups, human rights campaigners and religious organisations held the protest outside Scotland's only immigration removal centre.

Police said the event passed off peacefully with no arrests.