A 78-year-old motorist is in a life-threatening condition in hospital after a crash on the A9.

The man was taken to Raigmore Hospital by helicopter after the two-car collision on the Black Isle in the Highlands on Tuesday.

Another man in his 70s who was a passenger in his car also remains in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The woman driving the Landrover Discovery that their Vauxhall Corsa collided with near the Cromarty Bridge was uninjured.

Police briefly shut the road while the vehicles were removed from the scene and then again for around three hours after midnight after the 78-year-old's condition deteriorated.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Around 7pm last night, a two-vehicle road traffic collision occurred on the A9, just south of the Cromarty Bridge on the Black Isle.

"The collision involved a red Vauxhall Corsa and a white Landrover Discovery. The 78 year-old male driver of the Corsa was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital with serious injuries, initially not thought to be life-threatening, but his condition later deteriorated. He remains in a life-threatening condition.

"The male passenger of the Corsa, also in his 70s, remains in hospital but didn't sustain life-threatening injuries. The female driver of the Discovery wasn't injured and didn't require hospital treatment."