CURLERS from opposite sides of the Atlantic proved their friendship is set in stone when they united for an international competition in Greenock.

The skirl of the bagpipes echoed across the ice rink at Greenock's Waterfront Leisure Centre as curlers from Canada arrived to play in the Strathcona Cup - a contest organised by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club.

Visitor Kelly Salmon, who is from Saskatoon in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, says he absolutely loves Inverclyde.

He said: "This is a dream lifetime experience.

"I love curling so to be able to do something like this is amazing.

"The hospitality we have received has been incredible - we have been treated like kings and the people we have met are like brothers.

"We've made friends forever, so when the Scots put a foot down on our soil we will look after them."

Kelly , 50, who works as a support worker, was also full of praise for Inverclyde.

He added: "It's beautiful.

"This is the best view we've ever had at an ice rink, as you can see the snow on the mountains and the river.

"Back home the temperatures are between -21 and -25 so it's actually a lot warmer here."

The Strathcona Cup takes place every four years and is a competition between Canad and Scotland.

This year it is the Canadians' turn to visit Scotland so they are travelling to clubs across the country.

After being piped onto the rink at the Waterfront, the players warmed up with a dram of whisky before taking to the ice for two days of contests.

As well as curling, the visitors were treated to a tour round the area and invited to a civic reception with Provost Martin Brennan.

The curlers are keen to thank Councillor Natasha Murphy for officially opening the Greenock leg of the contest, as well as Stewart Robinson, Iain Samuel, John McCall and David Gourdie who worked hard to organise the event.