Legal action to free a Scottish former soldier jailed in India on weapons charges is "back to square one", according to his partner.

Yvonne MacHugh's finance Billy Irving is one of the veterans sentenced to five years in prison in January after they were detained on board an anti-piracy ship in 2013.

She said a second bail hearing due to take place in Chennai on Wednesday had fallen through after the public prosecutor failed to show up.

Mr Irving, from Connell near Oban, and five other former soldiers were working as security guards on a US-owned ship when they were arrested in October 2013 on illegal weapons charges.

They were working for maritime company AdvanFort providing anti-piracy protection when their ship, the MV Seaman Guard Ohio, was detained and the weapons were found.

In the following months the charges were dropped but the Indian authorities appealed against the decision and the men were detained.

The men maintain their innocence, insisting the weapons were held legally while they were on an operation to protect shipping, and are fighting to have their conviction overturned.

Ms MacHugh said the prosecutor's no-show and an attempt to change the judge in the appeal case for the second time puts them "back to square one".

She said: "We're going to have to start again from scratch. You couldn't make it up."

Ms MacHugh said she wants the UK Government to take action and is cautiously optimistic about Theresa May's pledge to talk to her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi about freeing the men when she visits India next month.

She said: "I just don't know how this can be allowed to carry on. It's been three years.

"They need to come to some sort of agreement and reach an end to this."