John Scott has said it's important to bring local jobs back to the area that have been lost over the past year.

The Ayr candidate was speaking on a visit to Prestwick, accompanied by leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, Douglas Ross.

The pair stopped off to speak with some business owners, as well as chat to the public.

Mr Scott said jobs must be created to support people recover from the effects of the last year.

Ayr Advertiser: The pair spoke with Graeme Johnson, chairman of the Prestwick Business AssociationThe pair spoke with Graeme Johnson, chairman of the Prestwick Business Association

He said: "The reality is that a lot of jobs have already been lost in a number of sectors here, we need to rebuild these sectors and get people back into work.

"We need to get the operation dealt with in our health service and get the backlog dealt with, and we need to get our schools up and running again".

John Scott has has retained the Ayr constituency with a reduced majority over the last two votes. The 69-year-old expects to see another close race.

He added: "I would never say I'm confident, I'm sure it'll go down to the last 500 votes either way.

"I'm always optimistic, but it would not be anything more than that".

Ayr Advertiser: They also had time to chat with some of the localsThey also had time to chat with some of the locals

Scottish Conservative Party Leader, Douglas Ross, joined John Scott to show his support for the upcoming election. Mr Scott said the support shown by the party leader, as well as the people of Prestwick has been great for him.

He said: "It's great to have Douglas down here and showing his support for me in the final week.

"I always love coming to Prestwick and seeing all the wonderful people.

"It's great to see people out and enjoying themselves again and to see the main street so busy".

Douglas Ross added: "It's great to be able to support John in Prestwick, a place where we've all had so much support over the years.

"Hopefully that can continue".