A vulnerable 96-year-old woman who moved to Australia after the death of her son faces being deported to Scotland.

Christina Grant, who is almost blind and suffers from mild dementia, relocated to New South Wales to stay with her son Allan and his wife Diane.

Her elder son Robert had cared for her at her home in Scotland before his death two years ago.

Ms Grant believed she was complying with the terms of her visa - which says she must leave Australia once a year - by taking a South Pacific cruise.

The trip reportedly did not count, however, and Mrs Grant now faces being sent back to Scotland.

Her daughter-in-law said: "Here is 96-year-old mum with bag packed, ready to leave her only close family and her home for the last couple of years, and being sent back to Scotland - hopefully to a nursing home - after the bureaucrats here unreasonably expired her visa.

"If it had instead been cancelled we could have gone to the administrative appeals tribunal who, I believe, would have overturned this decision.

"The immigration department has kept themselves and us very busy, filling in endless forms over the last few months, and offer no help or advice."

Ms Grant, who has a few nieces and nephews still living in Scotland, reportedly has until July 26 to leave Australia.

Her niece Alison Jones, who lives in Newtonmore in the Highlands, said: "It's a horrible situation. She's a lovely lady.

"It's quite upsetting to think this is what they're going through. It's a big thing for a lady of that age to have to face.

"We hadn't appreciated what they had gone through to try to prevent this."