Towns vie for city honour

Inverness became a city in March

Towns wishing to become Scotland's sixth city are to be invited to submit applications to receive the honour.

Ayr, Paisley and Stirling are all expected to mount bids to be elevated to city status as part of the Queen's golden jubilee celebrations next year.

The Lord Chancellor's Department is to hold a competition which will see towns in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland become cities.

The honour was bestowed on Inverness as part of the Millennium celebrations.

It became Scotland's fifth city after Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen.

Rare honour

The triumph of the "Highland capital" caused disappointment for the Scottish towns who missed out.

Ayr, Paisley and Stirling are all expected to submit applications for the new competition.

The deadline for applications will come in the autumn with the winners likely to be announced early next year.

City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by personal Command of the Queen and conferred by Letters Patent.

It was only conferred 14 times during the 20th century, the most recent including Armagh in 1994 and Sunderland in 1992.

Dundee received the honour in 1889.