Tributes have been paid to an elderly couple who died in freezing conditions outside their home on Lewis.

The couple, Donald and Morag MacMillan, ran the post office from their home in Gravir in the Pairc district of the island.

A local councillor for the area said their post office was "at the heart of the community" and the couple were known to all.

The bodies of the husband and wife were discovered outside their own house in the freezing cold around 8am on Friday.

Forensic experts are now examining the scene, as locals said the island community was in "shock."

It is understood local officers attended following a report of just one casualty and were shocked to discover a second body nearby.

A specialist police forensic team has arrived from the mainland and are looking at points of interest in the garden and at the path in front of the house.

A blue-coloured forensic tent was erected on a sloping part of the lawn and a police officer is standing guard at the scene.

Police say the deaths are being treated as unexplained and it could take "a number of days" before the circumstances are established.

It is understood there are no suspicious circumstances at this stage.

Donald, known locally as Boy, had clocked up around 50 years in the post office and was the third generation of his family to run the service.

The 73-year-old also operated an outreach post office service two days a week in the Kershader Resource Centre, a community hub for the wider Pairc area.

Morag, 67, previously worked at the nearby primary school and was a care assistant for a neighbour.

The pair - who had no sons or daughters - were well known in the community and helped out fundraising for local causes.

Local councillor, Philip McLean said: "As the tragic events unfolded I was shocked to learn that it was Maureen and 'Boy.'

"The post office they ran was at the heart of the South Lochs community and everybody living locally has been into that office to buy stamps and collect parcels so they were known to all.

"They were also active in the Pairc Historical Society and the Ravenspoint Centre in Kershader and were at the forefront of fund raising for many local groups.

"You would see them at all local events - and they were always together.

"They will be sorely missed and my thoughts and prayers are with their family and friends at this very sad time."

The couple were involved in Pairc Historical Society. A spokesman for the group said: "Words cannot express our shock as a community to this news.

"Maureen and Donald were so involved in our community that its hard to comprehend that we won't see them again.

"They were very active members of our comunn eachdraidh (historical society) since the day it was founded and Maureen has been treasurer for as long as I can remember.

"She also managed our Tional (local magazine) mailing and so many other aspects of our society and indeed both of them were a fountain of knowledge which we called on very often.

"We extend our sympathies to their many friends and relatives at this sad time."