A relative of the Macdonald-Haig poppy family drove drunk on the same stretch of road where he killed his best friend 12 years ago.

Alexander MacDonald-Haig was jailed for three years in 2004 after crashing his Land Rover on the A82 Inverness to Drumnadrochit road, resulting in the death of 18-year-old apprentice Ruraidh Potts.

MacDonald-Haig was 21 at the time and had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system on December 3, 2003. He was jailed and ordered to resit his driving test.

Last month, tree surgeon MacDonald-Haig, of Drumnadrochit, Highland, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court and admitted not resitting the extended test as ordered by the High Court judge Lord McEwan.

He pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified. He also admitted driving with 48mg of alcohol in his breath, over twice the legal limit on the A82 at Lochend, some six miles from Inverness on September 24, 2015.

The court was told police attended a collision involving Macdonald-Haig and smelled alcohol on his breath.

Defence lawyer Rory Gowans said: "Alcohol was still in his system from the night before. There were health concerns about his step-daughter and he and his partner sat up for most of the night.

"He shouldn't have driven the morning after and he is perfectly aware of how foolish and dangerous this was.

"He has let himself and his family down. If anyone should have been aware of that, then he should have.

"The experience and trauma of what happened years ago has been with him ever since. He knows he will be banned but he will employ a driver for his business.

"He is also willing to drop everything and do as many hours of unpaid work to avoid going back to jail."

Sentence had been deferred for a background report and after reading it, Sheriff Margaret Neilson told Macdonald-Haig she was "narrowly persuaded" not to send him to jail.

She ordered him to carry out the maximum 300 hours of unpaid community work, fined him £2000 and banned him from driving for five years.