The head of Scotland’s state-owned ferry network has admitted the service is getting worse.

Most islands in the west of Scotland rely on services from Caledonian MacBrayne, which operates 34 vessels – the largest fleet in the UK.

CalMac boss Robbie Drummond told the BBC rising passenger numbers, more intense storms and a failure to launch new vessels had led to problems.

He said passengers’ experience of the ferries was worse than in the past.

Last month the island of Arran lost the 29-year-old MV Caledonian Isles for nearly a fortnight because of an engine problem.

Then the 33-year-old MV Lord of the Isles, which serves South Uist, was withdrawn from service for maintenance, and the MV Hebrides, which connects Skye, North Uist and Harris in the “Uig triangle”, was damaged when it struck a pier.