A BABY boom has taken place across Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, latest figures show.

According to the National Records of Scotland, the number of births in East Renfrewshire during the final quarter of 2017 was almost 15 per cent higher than for the same period in 2016.

There were 233 babies born in the Barrhead area between October and December last year, compared to 203 a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the number of births in Renfrewshire went up by more than seven per cent between the two periods.

There were more than 417 babies born in the region from October to December 2017, compared to 389 in that period in 2016.

And both areas bucked the national trend, as births dropped by 1.3 per cent across Scotland between the final quarters of 2016 and 2017.

There were 12,821 babies born in Scotland in the final three months of last year, which is the lowest fourth quarter total since 2000.

The figures are released quarterly by the National Records of Scotland and also show the number of marriages and deaths taking place in each period of the year.

Latest statistics show that marriage has been a growing trend in Renfrewshire over the past decade, with the number of couples tying the knot rocketing by 45 per cent between 2007 and 2017.

There were more than 750 marriages registered in Renfrewshire last year, compared to just over 500 in 2007.

There was also a massive 71 per cent rise over those 10 years in the number of people getting married during the last three months of the year.

In East Renfrewshire, marriage numbers have fallen by 21 per cent over the past decade, with just 311 couples celebrating their wedding last year.