Construction has been completed on Scotland's newest landmark, two 100ft-tall horse head sculptures, called The Kelpies.

The dramatic horse heads are made of 600 tonnes of steel and can be seen from the M9 motorway in Falkirk.

They are part of a £43 million redevelopment of around 350 hectares of land between Falkirk and Grangemouth, including new parkland and pathways. It is hoped the site will attract thousands more tourists to the region and boost the local economy.

Glasgow artist Andy Scott was inspired by the tradition of working horses in Scotland which used to pull barges along canals and worked in the fields where The Kelpies now stand.

A new canal extension linking the Forth and Clyde Canal to the North Sea is expected to open up the inland waterways to more boating traffic in central Scotland.

The Helix redevelopment project was funded by the Big Lottery Fund, Falkirk Council and Scottish Canals.

Mr Scott and Transport Minister Keith Brown visited the site to oversee the completion of the five-month construction project.

The sculptor said: "It is almost eight years since I did the first sketches on my then girlfriend, now wife's kitchen table in Amsterdam. So to see them completed is both humbling and fantastic.

"I have always been fascinated with horses and the heavy horse was at one time the driving force in industry until after the industrial revolution."

The site will open to the public next summer after work is completed on visitor and parking facilities.