Scotland's new chief constable said he has been left "proud and inspired" after taking part in an awards ceremony to recognise good work across the force.

Phil Gormley described the winners in the inaugural Scottish Policing Excellence Awards as "extraordinary" and said it demonstrated the breadth of work carried out by the force.

Among those honoured were a police sergeant whose work helped tackle the sale of so-called legal highs, a special constable with 16 years' service in one of the country's most rural beats and a constable who stood out because of his work with social media.

Others recognised for their contribution included the force's youth volunteers and a policing team from Lanarkshire whose work achieved a reduction in the sale of alcohol to under-age drinkers.

Speaking after the event, Mr Gormley said: "It's been a really good afternoon, with the opportunity to celebrate the breadth, the depth and the quality of service that Police Scotland is delivering to the communities in Scotland. It's been really quite inspiring."

The ceremony took place on Friday at the Police Scotland College in Tulliallan, Clackmannanshire, and recognised achievements and innovation across 12 categories.

Leading the way was Sergeant Neil Wilson, of E Division (Edinburgh), who was named police officer of the year.

He was said to have made a sterling contribution to tackling the sale and impact of new psychoactive substances (NPS), also known as legal highs.

His results include securing the first forfeiture order in Scotland for NPS and he also helped bring about the granting of a temporary drugs class order for one substance, methylphenidate.

He said he was humbled to receive the honour.

"The good work that's recognised today goes on day in, day out, in divisions across the country," he added.

Neil Morrison, of L Division, was given the title of special constable of the year. He has served the community of Mull for 16 years and attended more than 40 call-outs last year.

The probationer of the year was named as Lanarkshire's Pc Taylor Johnston while interventions co-ordinator Laura Fisher from N Division (Highlands and Islands) was rewarded for her work to eradicate doorstep crime.

The Chief Constable's award was presented to the Police Scotland Youth Volunteers (PSYV), who won the team of the year award.

The scheme was set up in 2014 to encourage young people to participate in their communities while engaging positively with the police.

PSYV members now number more than 550 across the country and have helped at more than 200 events, including the Commonwealth Games and The Open.

Ayrshire-based Constable Jason Peter got a special recognition for his creativity and innovation in using social media, while the force's Polish language Facebook page scooped the equality award.

Mr Peter said he has tried to show the human side of policing through his work.

"We've had some great success in Ayrshire division particularly, some serious crime detections through our work in social media," he said.

Officers in the community policing teams in Motherwell and Wishaw, Lanarkshire, were given a gong for their project to tackle the supply of alcohol to young people.

E Division's meet the police project was recognised for its work with the children of prisoners at HMP Edinburgh.

Pc Christine Bonas, of the operational support division, was named the unsung hero of the year, and the service improvement award went to the performance support team in the Lothians and Borders.

Mr Gormley, who has been in the top job for three weeks, said: "I think it's really important we do celebrate good work.

"There have been a lot of issues that have been in the public domain around Police Scotland but this is what matters - these people doing fantastic jobs in communities, changing lives, changing people's lives for the better. That's what good policing is about."