FIFE police officers will have "an important part to play" when the COP 26 summit is held in Glasgow.

Delegates from around the world will attend the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow from November 1 to 12 with the aim of agreeing action to save the planet.

Asked about the impact on the Fife police force, Chief Superintendent Derek McEwan told councillors: "COP (Conference of the Parties) 26 from a logistical perspective is challenging.

"Some people may think 'You've literally had two years to plan this' but it's not an easy thing to plan simply because so many aspects of it are being kept under the radar as there are concerns about what gets reported too far in advance of the actual conference.

"There's a huge policing demand not just in Glasgow where the conference is being held but across the central belt as some prominent nations will likely be residing in certain areas.

"Right now I do not know, as I'm not part of the planning team, where they are likely to be based but obviously in Fife alone we have some prominent hotels which may appeal to some nations.

"The planning team would manage security at the hotel but from a local policing perspective we would have to manage the town and possible influx of other people where they are residing."

He continued: "Police Scotland are strongly focused on allowing peaceful protest, we're all genuinely concerned about what's happening to our planet and hopefully COP 26 may produce some real benefits for us all and our kids.

"Fife police officers will have an important part to play in that.

"It's a very challenging thing to allow for peaceful protest to take place at the same time as facilitating the movement of significant numbers of people from Glasgow to other areas throughout Scotland."