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A contact centre firm has announced plans to open a "flagship" office in Kirkcaldy, creating more than 200 jobs.

The move by VeriCall is being backed with a Regional Selective Assistance grant of £1m from Scottish Enterprise.

The government agency had worked in partnership with Fife Council to attract the firm to the town.

VeriCall said it planned to create 209 jobs over two years once the company moves into new premises in John Smith Business Park.

It added that all the roles would be full-time and permanent and meet the Scottish living wage of £9 an hour.

Welcoming the news, Scottish Business Minister Jamie Hepburn said he was delighted that the new jobs would meet the Scottish living wage.

He added: "We will continue to work with VeriCall to ensure they deliver on their ambitious plans for the new centre in Fife and hope that it will attract further investment to the region."

VeriCall managing director Adam Taylor said: "Whilst researching potential locations we were drawn to the warm and accommodating nature encountered in Fife which matches the manner in which we wish to represent our clients.

"Fife Council also demonstrated a desire to cultivate innovative, technology-focused businesses to create sustainable employment opportunities for future generations."

VeriCall provides customer service for business clients, linking phone support with social media and direct messaging.

Its website states: "A unique blend of artificial intelligence, robotic process automation and mobile and digital orchestration technologies enable us to easily deconstruct and re-engineer your current processes and customer journeys."

Scottish Enterprise provides RSA grants to investment projects that will "create and safeguard employment" in selected areas of Scotland.

In the financial year 2017-18, the agency offered £14m in RSA grant funding to 75 companies to support expansion plans and job creation.