A lorry driver who died in a collision with another HGV on the A9 fell asleep at the wheel, an inquiry has found.

Alexander Fraser was fatally injured in the head-on collision near Kingussie in the Highlands on March 19, 2015.

The 50-year-old, who was based in Inverness, was driving a lorry which collided with an Argos HGV driven by James Kenmure at around 6am.

During a fatal accident inquiry into Mr Fraser's death, it was revealed the lorry driver, who was employed by Highland Staff Solutions Limited, had started his shift at 8pm in Inverness before travelling south to Glasgow.

Sheriff Margaret Neilson said in her determination released on Tuesday that "nothing appeared out of the ordinary" during his shift.

The experienced long-distance lorry driver, who predominantly worked nights, had been finding it "difficult to sleep during the day because of building work going on in fields adjacent to his house", however.

He began the return journey north at around 3am, having slept while his lorry was loaded with goods at M&H Logistics on Cambuslang Road in Glasgow.

The inquiry found Mr Fraser was "not near to either the maximum hours for driving or the minimum rest periods required" at the time of the crash.

There were no adverse road conditions or other factors that could have contributed to the fatal collision.

Sheriff Neilson said: "On the basis of the evidence before me and in the absence of any other positive evidence to suggest an alternative reason for inattention or distraction, it seems to me that the inevitable conclusion is that on the balance of probabilities Mr Fraser fell asleep at the wheel causing his lorry to cross onto the opposing carriageway and collide with the Argos lorry being driven by Mr Kenmure."

In the sheriff's findings, she summarised evidence from the Argos lorry driver Mr Kenmure, who suffered minor injuries.

He noticed Mr Fraser's HGV travelling north, which was "drifting across the road towards him".

Mr Kenmure "thought a collision was inevitable" and stopped his vehicle in an attempt to protect himself.

She added: "He turned his cab into the barrier as far as he could in order to try and protect himself. His lorry was hard against the wire barrier.

" He closed his eyes as he thought he would die. The actual collision then happened very quickly, in a matter of seconds."