The amount of money set aside for broadband improvements across Scotland should be increased by £15 million, according to a leading MSP.

Peter Peacock, who represents the Highlands and Islands, has claimed the extra funding could be key in securing improved broadband speeds and coverage in rural parts of the country, reports the Press and Journal.

It has been suggested that the funding may become available as part of a windfall the government is set to gain access to due to the pound's falling value in relation to the euro.

Mr Peacock told the newspaper: "It is not every day a minister gets a windfall of such a huge amount of cash, and it is cash that can only be spent in rural areas, nowhere else."

He added that the extra cash could be "an important step forward" in improving broadband services.

Danny Alexander, the MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, recently told the BBC that broadband speeds in his constituency are a "disgrace".