The family of a shipyard worker who died after alleged exposure to asbestos have won the right to sue the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Ian Hunter died in December last year after being diagnosed with mesothelioma shortly after he had raised the case for damages.

Mr Hunter was employed at Rosyth Dockyard by the MoD his whole working life and was suing it over his cancer diagnosis.

He claimed he had been exposed to "considerable quantities of asbestos" while working on ships.

After his death, his partner Brenda Gray and her grown-up children, along with some grandchildren, sought to continue the legal fight for damages from the MoD.

Both liability and the amount of damages involved are being contested in the action.

On Thursday, Frank Mulholland QC sitting as a temporary judge at the Court of Session, ruled in favour of Mr Hunter's family.

A further hearing will now be held to determine their claims.

The MoD had challenged the action on an "age related" basis. Ms Gray's children, Garry Gray and Sharon McDonald, were 33 and 36 respectively when she moved in with Mr Hunter.

Advocate general Lord Keen, who was representing the MoD dockyard, had argued "none of them can be described as a 'child' in the normal sense in which that word is used", meaning they could not pursue the action under current legislation.

During the action, Mr Hunter's family said they were "particularly close".

They said he "fulfilled the role of father and grandfather within the family" who "provided practical and emotional support, advice, guidance, companionship and affection" to them.

Mr Mulholland decided the term child under the Damages (Scotland) Act 2011 was not "age restricted" but "correlative of relationship" with the parent, enabling Mr Hunter's relatives to continue the court action.