A Scottish tourist has died after being hit by a car while reportedly taking a selfie in the middle of a German motorway.

The 22-year-old, who has been named as Dean Steele from Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, was struck by an Audi A6 on the autobahn while taking photos with his friends in Gudow in Lauenburg, around 30 miles outside Hamburg.

Police said they had spoken to "several witnesses" who reported seeing the man and his two companions in the central reservation of the motorway, "apparently making cell phone pictures of themselves".

However, friends of Mr Steele's family dispute the version of events given by police, stating the tourists were crossing the autobahn to get to their hotel having got out of a taxi on the other side of the route.

A fundraising campaign to help cover the costs of returning Mr Steele to Scotland, as well as those of his funeral, has been launched by friend Joseph Cheney. It has already raised more than £2000.

The Audi driver, a 73-year-old man from Lauenburg, "did not appear to be able to evade" hitting one of them on the A24 lane heading for Berlin around 11.40am on Sunday, police said.

In a statement to the media, police stated all three of the tourists were drunk at the time of the incident.

The Luebeck state prosecutor has ordered a post-mortem examination to take place as they look to determine the identity of the pedestrian killed in the incident.

Officers said the trio had stayed in Hamburg the previous day before staying overnight in Gudow.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We are supporting the family of a British man who sadly died in Germany on April 30 and are in contact with the local authorities."

The Laughing Buddha pub in Viewpark has also posted a tribute to Mr Steele.

It said: "For those of you that don't already know, Dean was involved in an accident in Germany.

"We are hoping all of our staff and customers can come together at this terrible time to help his family get Dean home.

"There will be a collection in the bar for anyone wishing to contribute to the cost of getting him home for the send off he deserves.

"Everyone here at Laughing Buddha is absolutely devastated at this news and are thinking of Dean's family at this sad time."