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Scottish retailers have recorded their best monthly performance in more than four years, figures have shown.

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) said sales of garden furniture, barbecues and summer clothing, footwear and food all performed well in May.

Total sales in Scotland increased by 2.6% compared with May 2017, when they decreased by 0.2% - the highest since January 2014.

The sales figures were also above the three and 12-month averages.

Total food sales in May increased 4.2% compared with May 2017, when they increased by 4.5%.

Non-food sales saw an increase of 1.4%, whereas last year there was a decrease of 3.8%.

The SRC said these figures were the best since January 2014 - excluding Easter distortions.

SRC director David Lonsdale said the figures were a "balm for hard-pressed retailers".

"Total retail sales, adjusted for falling shop prices, recorded their best monthly performance in almost four-and-a-half years.

"Sales of garden furniture, barbecues, summer-related clothing, footwear and food performed well, as did gaming and TVs driven by demand for new titles and upcoming sporting events.

"In contrast household appliances and home accessories fared less well."

Paul Martin, head of retail for KPMG in the UK, said: "Following a challenging April, retailers can breathe a sigh of relief after May delivered a much-needed sales uplift in Scotland.

"Multiple bank holidays, coupled with an extended period of warm weather, contributed to the 2.3% increase - the highest we've seen since 2014.

"The sun shining inevitably drove Scots outdoors, with weekend picnics and bank holiday barbecues helping to drive a 4.2% growth in food sales."

However, Mr Martin added that non-food sales were lagging slightly behind the three-month UK equivalent.