Heritage enthusiasts are being invited to travel back in time to discover the vibrant culture of an historic Renfrewshire town.

Everything from sport to the cotton industry is covered in a new publication called Linwood Through The Ages.

It is the result of a history project undertaken by Dougie Ross, who researched the development of the town since its creation in 1792.

The 59-year-old was inspired to write the book after creating his Facebook group 'Auld Linwood Town and Surrounds,' which is popular with locals who grew up in the town during the 1960s and 1970s.

Dougie told The Gazette: "The book came out of the Facebook group, which lets local people reminisce about growing up in Linwood.

The Gazette:

"Those of us who grew up there during the 1960s and 1970s had a great upbringing in the town.

"It was terrible in the 1980s after the car factory shut down and there was high unemployment, but it's had a comeback and is a totally different place now.

"A few books have been written before about the history of Linwood, but they are quite basic and I wanted to go in-depth and tell the whole story."

The Facebook group, which has now amassed over 2,700 members, proved to be pivotal in helping Dougie write his first book.

The former Linwood High pupil said: "A lot of the information is from newspaper articles over the last two and a half centuries, as I decided to cover all of Linwood's history from day one.

"However, I didn't want to cover just the historical events, but also local peoples' lives, like their religion and culture.

The Gazette:

"The Facebook group has been invaluable, as I've been able to put include first-hand accounts and anecdotes of what it was like to go to school and what the living conditions were like in Linwood from as far back as the 1940s.

"People from the group also gave me photographs to use in the book."

Dougie, who works as a QHSE construction adviser in Saudi Arabia, plans to donate royalties from the book to a charity based in Linwood.

He added: "People who have read the book have told me how they didn't realise the town had such an interesting history.

"I didn't write it for the money, I just wanted to give something back to Linwood because it gave me a brilliant upbringing."

Linwood Through The Ages can be ordered online at www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CNTYFPVM.