A taxi driver who knocked down an 89-year-old man in a fatal crash claimed the glare of the sun blinded him.

James Buchanan's Seat Toledo struck a shopping trolley being pulled by David McQuiston, knocking him to the ground.

Mr McQuiston was returning home from visiting his dementia-stricken wife at the time of the collision in Dunoon, Argyllshire.

He never fully recovered and died two months later.

Buchanan - a taxi driver for 18 years - pleaded guilty to causing Mr McQuiston's death by careless driving on Monday.

His bail was continued at the High Court in Glasgow pending sentencing next month.

Mr McQuiston was knocked down by the taxi in Argyll Road, Dunoon, at around 3pm on January 3, 2015, after he had gone to see his wife of 51 years, who lived with their daughter in the seaside town.

Prosecutor Tim Niven Smith said "the sun was low in the sky" with its brightness "reducing visibility" for motorists.

Mr McQuiston was walking with the trolley along double yellow lines at the roadside, possibly because the pavement was icy, the court heard.

Mr Niven Smith said Buchanan failed to spot Mr McQuiston at kerbside and his car hit his trolley, causing him to fall and hit his head.

Buchanan immediately got out of his vehicle and called 999.

He told one witness: "I could not see him. I did not mean it. It was the glare of the sun."

A retired nurse went to help Mr McQuiston and Buchanan repeated: "I did not see him. The sun was in my eyes."

He then went on to say that another passing driver had been "blinded" by the sun. It was also noted a police car had to stop due to the glare.

Mr McQuiston was transferred by helicopter to intensive care in Glasgow amid fears he had a brain injury.

Following rehabilitation, he was sent to the Erskine care home in Renfrewshire. On March 20, 2015, Mr McQuiston suffered breathing problems, fell unconscious and died. The cause of death was given as a form of pneumonia linked to the head injury.