Efforts to clear 2,000-tonne Rest and Be Thankful landslide

More than 1,000 tonnes of debris was dislodged from the hillside at the Rest and Be Thankful

Engineers have been tackling more than 2,000 tonnes of landslip debris in efforts to reopen the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll.

The route was closed on Tuesday after days of heavy rain dislodged rocks and earth. It is hoped it may reopen on Thursday.

A special fence successfully held back more than 1,200 tonnes of debris, including boulders the size of a car.

The Old Military Road diversion route has been used as a detour for traffic.

This adds between 15 and 45 minutes to journey times between Tarbet and Inveraray.

The Old Military Road is now operating while clearing operations continue

Contractor Bear Scotland said about 1,500 tonnes of debris had so far been removed from the road, roadside and debris fence.

A spokesman said: "This is the largest recorded landslide in the area, the previous worst was in September 2009 when around 1,000 tonnes of material came down the slope."

A specialist 16m reach excavator has been brought to the site to help remove material from the slope which has been retained by the debris fence.

The clearance operation began at first light and was carried out until the hours of darkness on Wednesday and will start again on Thursday morning.

It is hoped the road may be ready to reopen on later on Thursday, using temporary traffic lights as a precautionary measure.