A French historian has hit out at the crumbling state of Old St Kentigern's Church in Lanark where William Wallace got married.

Historian Bertrand Humeau was appalled to visit the historic site and find the building blocked off and disintegrating.

Mr Humeau said that if Wallace was alive today he would want his countrymen and women to rise up in protest against the dilapidated state of the building.

He was shocked at the rapid deterioration of Old St Kentigern's since his last visit to the town in 2009 after discovering access to the church has now been blocked off and walls are crumbling.

Mr Bertrand said: "The condition of the church today worries me. It looks like the place has been abandoned and the council is waiting for it to collapse before demolishing it.

"In 2009, it was still possible to approach the church and walk inside it. Now, the access is blocked and the site does not look very welcoming.

"As a French person with an in interest in William Wallace and Scottish history, I was very sad to find Saint Kentigern's in this condition.

"William Wallace would probably have rebelled against an administration not looking after its heritage. It took centuries to preserve it and, if we lose it, it will be lost forever."

Mr Humeau's interest in Scottish medieval history, and William Wallace in particular, was prompted by the Scots hero's own Norman ancestry.

This interest led him to make two previous trips, in 2007 and 2009, to visit the impressive ruin in which Wallace reportedly worshipped and married Marion Braidfute.

South Lanarkshire Council are responsible for the upkeep of Lanark cemetery, however, Lanark Community Development Trust have been charged with funding the refurbishment of St Kentigern's to become a national tourist attraction.

A Trust spokeswoman said: "Action plans to carry out urgent repair works to both the St Kentigern's Church, and the adjacent mausoleum, are currently being prepared by South Lanarkshire Council.

"The Trust cannot do anything until South Lanarkshire Council has stabilised the building but it is still very much a live project as far as we are concerned."