Two chippies are preparing to go head-to-head for the title of Scotland's best fish and chip shop.

Cromars in St Andrews and Moore's Fish & Chips in Castle Douglas will compete for the title of Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year at the 2016 National Fish & Chip Awards.

The awards, which are organised by Seafish, will be held at The Lancaster London Gotel on January 20, 2016.

The shops have already received a mystery shopper visit and have been judged on appearance, responsible sourcing policies, customer service and staff training policies.

Over the coming weeks, they will be subjected to further mystery judging evaluations and in-depth judging audits.

The next stage of the competition will determine the regional winner for Scotland who will then compete against nine other regional winners for the top accolade.

Paul Williams, Chief Executive of Seafish, said: “The aim of the National Fish & Chip Awards has always been to showcase the very best fish and chip businesses and individuals in the UK while setting incredibly high standards for the industry to aspire to.

“The Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Award is one of the highest honours to receive as a fish and chip business. Many of our past winners and finalists have gone on to reap substantial benefits, including international fame through industry trips overseas, increased shop footfall and turnover and even launching their own products.

“It’s great to see so many excellent shops through to this stage of the competition. I’d like to offer up my congratulations and wish them the best as they prepare to continue their quest towards winning a regional title, but also thank them for consistently helping us to reinforce the UK’s reputation as the home of the world’s best fish and chips.”

For further information on The National Fish & Chip Awards please visit www.fishandchipawards.com. Follow @FishnChipAwards on Twitter for all the awards news and information.