SCOTTISH Borders Council has confirmed it routinely uses a weed-killing chemical which is the centre of a landmark US court case that links the chemical with cancer.

Chemical giant Monsanto has been ordered to pay $289m (£226m) damages to a man who claimed herbicides containing glyphosate had caused his cancer.

Monsanto produces Roundup and RangerPro weedkillers, which plaintiff DeWayne Johnson used frequently in his job at a Californian high school and which he believes led to him being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system.

In a landmark ruling, a jury in California found that Monsanto knew the weedkillers were dangerous to use and failed to warn consumers.

Other governments and authorities have already banned the use of the chemical in public spaces, such as Portugal, Italy, Sri Lanka and the Canadian city of Vancouver, and French President Emmanuel Macron has tried to prevent the use of glyphosate.

In the wake of the US ruling, Scottish Borders Council has confirmed it routinely uses the chemical, which the World Health Organisation concluded was ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ in 2015.

A Scottish Borders Council spokesperson said: “We only use weedkiller products licensed for use, which includes Roundup, at locations and in a manner which is compliant with the licensing requirements, observing appropriate protocols in terms of control of substances hazardous to health.

“There are no plans to change the current procedures or products used as these are the most cost effective method of weed control that we are aware of at this time.”