MSP Murdo Fraser has welcomed new technology from Vodafone which will help block up to 425,000 nuisance and scam calls a day.

Under the previous system, the firm could stop customers from unintentionally returning a call to a fraudulent number but couldn't prevent them receiving the nuisance call in the first place.

Now, Vodafone can block those calls and the customer won't even know a call has been blocked since the system works discreetly.

Mr Fraser, the Mid Scotland and Fife Tory MSP, praised Vodafone's said: "Consumers in Scotland are more likely to receive nuisance or scam callers than anywhere else in the UK and more needs to be done to crack down on those responsible.

“I would call on other networks to follow Vodafone’s example and be proactive in clamping down on fraudsters and hope that this kind of technology can be rolled out for landline as well as mobile numbers.

“Scammers cost the UK economy around £9 billion a year, with elderly and vulnerable residents most at risk and it’s important that network operators and the police work together to stay one step ahead of the criminals.”

During tests, more than 425,000 calls were blocked in one day and the number of all nuisance call attempts against customers dropped to under a thousand as the perpetrators realised their calls could not enter the Vodafone network.