More than 1,400 people have gathered in Perth for a high-tech treasure hunt.

Enthusiasts in the pursuit of geocaching from all over the world were taking part in Saturday's event, Mega Scotland.

Perth's Dewars Centre is the main hub for the event. Its conference manager, Moira Bartrop, said: "The place is absolutely full of people. So many people have come from all over the world.

"We've got people of all ages here, from kids in prams to grandparents. Everybody's having a ball, it's tremendous. Perth and Perthshire are also benefiting massively from the influx of people. A lot of people have used their summer holidays to be here for the week of events."

Geocaching sees people using hand-held GPS devices to find containers hidden by other participants.

Then then share their experiences online.

The event is being held as part of celebrations to mark the 800th anniversary of Perth being granted Royal Burgh status.

Perth and Kinross Council said the gathering, the first of its kind in Scotland, was expected to generate around £300,000 for the local economy.

Provost John Hulbert said : "This is certainly the most international event to have been held in the city of Perth for several years, with 40 countries represented, and 1,400 geocachers registered.

"It is certainly putting geocaching on the map in this part of Scotland.

"Up until last year, in this area anyway, I suspect that geocaching was an interest of a relatively small sector of the sports community. Thanks to the very extensive publicity over the last year, that is changing rapidly and the massive influx of geocachers this week is sure to speed up that change."