A Honda rally car was seen "rolling in the air" before it fatally struck a woman during a race.

Gavin Butterworth, 25, told the fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the death of Joy Robson at the Snowman Rally in February 2013 about how he and other spectators tried to save her life.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard on Friday how Mr Butterworth ran towards the vehicle, which had came to rest in an area just off the race track in Inverness.

When he arrived at the scene, he saw 51-year-old Joy Robson lying "just underneath the car".

The former retained firefighter then worked with other concerned members of the public in a bid to save Ms Robson's life.

He fetched a spinal board from a rescue vehicle that arrived at the scene and helped place Joyce on top of the device.

Mr Butterworth, of Inverness, told the inquiry he and other spectators then took shifts to administer CPR to Joy but their efforts were in vain as Ms Robson died shortly afterwards.

Asked by Crown lawyer Andrew Brown QC how he felt at the moment Ms Robson lost her life, Mr Butterworth replied: "Exhausted."

Mr Butterworth told the inquiry of the moment he saw the Honda.

He said: "I remember hearing it coming. By the time I saw the vehicle, it had shot into the air. It was already rolling in the air. It was pitched in the air."

Mr Butterworth said it landed on the ground and he knew something was wrong as people were running towards the vehicle.

He said he also ran towards the vehicle and saw Ms Robson lying injured.

Mr Butterworth added: "She was just underneath the car on its left hand side. She was lying on her side."

He said that Ms Robson was conscious at this time, adding: "She managed to give her name."

The inquiry heard there was also an "offshore paramedic", another firefighter and a nurse present at the scene.

Mr Butterworth's sister Annie, 23, told the inquiry she had concerns about the number of people who were standing close to the circuit.

Ms Butterworth, a journalist, told Mr Brown: "I remarked to my brother at the time that I hadn't seen so many people standing so close to the track."

She also told the inquiry that moments before the collision took place a teenager ran across the path of a rally car.

Ms Butterworth, a motorsports enthusiast, said she had not seen behaviour of that nature in her time spectating rally races.

The inquiry heard a group of predominantly young men were standing in a restricted area close to the circuit and a marshal ordered them to move along.

Ms Butterworth said: "They were quite a young group - they were in their late teens and early 20s.

"A marshal told them that they couldn't stand there. He told them that if they didn't move he would use his radio and he would end the stage. He was telling them that he would have the stage closed.

"He was getting moans and gurning from the group. They thought he was being overzealous. I was quite annoyed. I didn't want the stage closed."

The inquiry heard the majority of the people in the group then moved.

Spectator Gordon Sutherland, 53, told the inquiry he was standing ten metres away from Ms Robson.

He said he "didn't feel completely safe" and was about to move when the crash happened.

Mr Sutherland, of Thurso, Caithness, said marshals had earlier told other spectators that they should move on.

He also told of helping to lift the crashed car to rescue a boy who was trapped beneath the vehicle.

Doctor James MacHugh said he reached the scene by car in 14 minutes but was slightly impeded by spectators along the route.

The inquiry into the crash at the Snowman Rally is expected to last a week.

It will then hear evidence on the deaths of Iain Provan, Elizabeth Allan and Len Stern at the Jim Clark Memorial Rally in May 2014.