A planned major expansion of Donald Trump's flagship Turnberry resort has been rejected.

The Trump Organisation wanted to create upmarket housing around the golf club.

But the local council vetoed the plans - threatening efforts by the US president's company to stem Turnberry's heavy losses.

Mr Trump's firm planned to significantly increase the footprint of its Trump Turnberry resort, with his son, Eric, personally overseeing the plans to rezone agricultural land for development.

He enlisted architects who pointed to the firm's "excellent track record of investment" in the region.

However, The Scotsman newspaper revealed South Ayrshire Council planners rejected the Trump Organisation's request to reclassify farmland along the Firth of Clyde coastline for housing.

A spokeswoman for the council said: "Our planning department have advised that the sites were assessed against a range of environmental and planning criteria, alongside other alternative site submissions made in response to the main issues report consultation.

"It was concluded that they should not be recommended for release."