Perth has regained city status after years of campaigning by residents.

The Fair City on the River Tay was one of 25 towns across the UK bidding to get city status as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Perth becomes Scotland’s seventh city after Inverness, which was given status in 2000 as part of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Chelmsford in England and St Asaph in Wales have also been awarded city status to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond congratulated Perth on its successful city status bid.

He added: "This is fantastic news for the City of Perth and indeed for the whole of Scotland. To have the title of City restored rightly to this ancient  capital is entirely fitting during this Diamond Jubilee Year.
 
"Praise is due to the people who have worked hard to make Perth’s case, in particular the Provost John Hulbert and Lord Lieutenant Mel Jamieson. Their dedication has resulted in a celebration for the Fair City’s people and a recognition of what Perth means to Scotland.
 
"Now we can look forward to an exciting future building on an already dynamic city which will deliver further success economically to the local community and more widely. Well done to the Fair City."

It was up against 24 other UK towns, including Dumfries, and several in England, such as Doncaster, Middlesbrough and Bolton.

Perth, which is already an ecclesiastical city due to its cathedral and celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2010, has a population of around 44,000.

It previously lost city status during a local government re-organisation in 1975 while the bid to restore it received cross-party support from politicians.