Dark clouds may have been covering Scotland this summer, but the new Scottish Sun mascot has been bringing a ray of sunshine.

Smiling paperboy Sunny promises to deliver The Scottish Sun with the very best in news, features, sport – and laughs.

The title will also be offering him as the prize in a great readers’ competition to open fetes, attend a child’s birthday party – or maybe even toss the caber at a Highland Games!

To mark his debut, he travelled the length and breadth of the country visiting the most famous landmarks.

Chief feature writer Matt Bendoris and photographer Michael Schofield followed Sunny on his grand tour of Scotland.

And he was an instant hit with Scots and tourists alike in Glasgow city centre.

Cinzia Jennings, 58, from Rome, Italy, beamed: “He is lovely and looks very happy. It was nice to meet him.”

While Tony Hagan, 14, from Dunoon, Argyll, said: “Sunny is great – he’s so funny.”

Aakriti Bhatta, six, from Aberdeen was also a Sunny fan.

She said: “I like Sunny very much. He has a nice, big, smiley face.”

And Sunny has been rising in the Far East with pals Ivy Ma, 28, and Ann Hu, 27, from Beijing, China.

Ivy said: “I love Sunny, he makes me laugh and he’s really friendly.”

While Ann added: “Sunny is a great mascot. He’s so eye-catching and energetic.”