A damning structural report has found close to 1000 defects at a hotel which forced the months-long closure of Ayr train station.

Collapsed ceilings on multiple floors, rat and pigeon droppings on surfaces and missing window panes are just some of problems detected at the crumbling Station Hotel, which is due to replaced.

Ayr Station, which is based next to the hotel, was closed for months in the second half of last year and ScotRail staff have been working from portable offices.

Water has been seeping into the once grand B-listed building, scarring the walls with damp and mould.

Photographs show wallpaper peeling off walls of the Victorian building and floors covered in filth and a bathroom littered with pigeon or rat droppings is also pictured.

Outside many pieces of the sandstone are crumbling and walls are stained green, while missing tiles have left gaps in the roof.

The fabric of the roof and perimeter walls have been described as being in "poor" or "very poor condition" in the the south section of the hotel but "reasonable" in the north.

South Ayrshire Council commissioned the 203-page report, which was carried out by Mott MacDonald.

Another report is due at the end of the month - listing costs, a conclusion and any recommendations to make it safe.

The 1885 French Renaissance-style hotel closed for business in 2013 and was deemed as unsafe to enter last year.

South Ayrshire Council served two dangerous buildings notices on the owner in July 2013 and April last year.

The council said: "We have received the factual structural condition report from the consultants for the privately owned building adjacent to Ayr train station.

"The report is based on the condition of the building and highlights areas of defect."