OPPOSING sides of the fracking debate will come face-to-face tonight, with a protest and public meeting both scheduled.

Ineos has embarked on a series of presentations which aim to engage with residents and their concerns about its proposed fracking operations.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7pm, but will be preceded by a one hour protest at Bishopbriggs Academy organised by Don't Frack the 'Briggs.

Harry Barnes, a representative of the group, called fracking a "total danger", and expects a good turnout for the two events.

He said: "We held a meeting before and there were over 335 people.

"It was brought up at the Bishopbriggs hustings too.

"There's a feeling that folk don't really trust the company."

A similar event was held at Kilsyth Academy last Thursday, with an attendance of around 35 people.

The chairman of the meeting said it was their "most intimate yet".

Following the protest residents will be able to listen to a presentation by Tom Pickering, operations director of Ineos Upstream, and then quiz him directly during a Q&A session.

Mr Pickering described their decision to consult the public in this way as "starting a conversation", with a key aim to spread their side of the argument.

He said: "Google has become the source of information for people. There are so many inaccurate diagrams."

Bishopbriggs lies at the edge of the area Ineos has a licence to frack, which covers a total of 127 square miles.

Claims by the Swiss multinational that they took safety and environmental regulations very seriously were met with loud bursts of laughter from anti-fracking campaigners during the first public meeting.

That session was held in Denny High School and attended by more than 100 people,

Robert Kay, a member of Cumbernauld Against Unconventional Gas Extraction, said that while the meetings have been interesting, they are part of a longer battle.

He explained: "The price of oil is at a low at present, making fracking uneconomic until the price regains to well over $100 a barrel.

"The geology is uncertain and difficult, so companies want to drill test wells now to prospect for the future, and each test will be subjected to intense media and public scrutiny. The politicians will sit on the fence for as long as possible."

The licences owned by Ineos cover parts of East Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire, having recently bought out IGas' interest as part of a £30m deal.

Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing announced a moratorium on granting planning consents for fracking developments earlier this year, to facilitate a full public consultation.

Tickets are available online at eventbrite.co.uk/e/community-engagement-programme-bishopbriggs-tickets-16201007650.