A man who murdered his sister by strangling her with his bare hands because she was "cheeky" has been jailed for life.

Charles Gordon, 52, was ordered to serve at least 17 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

He was found guilty of killing his sister Elizabeth Bowe at her flat on Bobby Jones Place in St Andrews, Fife, on September 17, last year.

Prosecutors said the "violent and sustained" assault came after Ms Bowe had offered him a place to stay in her home.

Gordon claimed he only grabbed his 50-year-old sister by the neck after she threatened to accuse him of rape and said she would slash his face with a knife.

On Wednesday, judge John Morris QC told Gordon: "I fix the punishment part of the life sentence at 17 years but you will not automatically be released after that period. That will be a matter for the parole board."

The High Court in Glasgow heard Gordon strangled his sister then called the police at 9.24pm.

He told a 999 operator: "I think I've killed my sister. She's dead and I'm alive."

When asked why he did it, Gordon told the call handler: "Because she was a cheeky b*****d, growling aw night."

Police who arrived at the scene found Gordon calmly smoking a cigarette while his dying sister, who was naked from the waist down, lay just feet away from him with blood coming from her mouth and a blue dressing gown wrapped round her neck.

Gordon told police officers who battled to save Ms Bowe: "She's already dead, you might as well give up."

Pathologist Dr David Sadler told the court that Ms Bowe, who was 5ft 6in and weighed 7st 4lb, died from strangulation.

He said the most likely scenario was Gordon strangled Ms Bowe with one hand and had the other clamped over her mouth.

The jury was told Ms Bowe would have lost consciousness after 10 to 20 seconds but it would take at least a minute to inflict a fatal injury.

In evidence, Gordon admitted killed Ms Bowe but not murdering her.

He said: "I grabbed hold of her by the throat with my left hand. I kept a hold of her until she hit the floor. She slumped and went down. When she went down I let her go."

Gordon was also accused of raping his sister but that charge was withdrawn at the end of the Crown case.

Solicitor advocate Ian Peterson said: "This was not pre-meditated. It appears to have been because of what happened in the flat that day.

"He phoned the police. He should get some credit for that."

Speaking following the sentencing, major crime procurator fiscal Nicky Patrick said: "This was a violent and sustained assault and took place despite Elizabeth Bowe offering her brother shelter and a place to stay.

"The nature of this crime is thankfully exceedingly rare and and some comfort can be taken from the life sentence handed to the accused today."