Scottish Water Horizons has been fined £26,000 after failing to tackle a bad smell coming from a North Lanarkshire recycling facility.

The company, a subsidiary of Scottish Water, pleaded guilty to five breaches of pollution regulations in relation to its Deerdykes Composting and Organics Recycling facility.

Residents first complained about "offensive odours" coming from the plant in June 2012, leading to an investigation by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).

Officers who visited the site found the smell was being caused by waste being composted outdoors.

They also discovered equipment designed to treat odorous air was not performing adequately.

The permit was transferred from Scottish Water Horizons to its parent company in 2013 and Sepa said "significant improvements" have been made since then.

Sepa said the fine, handed down at Airdrie Sheriff Court this week, would show it was serious about prosecuting environmental offenders.

Fiona Graham, Sepa's reporting officer, said: "The local communities in Condorrat, Cumbernauld, Mollinsburn and Moodiesburn, and a neighbouring soft play area, were regularly and severely impacted by the activities of the Deerdykes site over a prolonged period of time.

"Although the offensiveness of any odour is subjective, there is a distinctive unpleasantness in being subjected to offensive odours at your home or business.

"Scottish Water Horizons Limited was given the opportunity to put further engineered measures in place to control odours, but insisted that management controls would ensure compliance rather than investing in infrastructure.

"We hope that this fine demonstrates to all companies that compliance is not an option.

"If operators do not meet the conditions of their permit, and do not take the required steps to ensure their site is compliant, we will not hesitate to recommend them for prosecution."