Thousands sign fuel cost petition

Image caption, The petition asks for a fuel price pilot project to include rural Scotland

A woman from the Western Isles has gathered 3,000 names for a petition and 1,500 followers to a Facebook campaign in a protest over high fuel costs.

Erica MacDonald, of Barra, and the isles' MP Angus MacNeil have handed the petition to the Treasury.

It also urges the UK government to include Scotland's rural areas in a pilot project offering petrol and diesel at reduced costs.

The SNP's Mr MacNeil congratulated Ms MacDonald on collecting so many names.

He said: "Those 3,000 names are a significant number when you consider at the moment the Daily Telegraph has gathered something like 17,000 names against capital gains tax and that's from throughout the UK."

Mr MacNeil said Ms MacDonald had collected her names from the islands and from small communities in the Highlands.