A boy has denied abducting, raping and murdering six-year-old Alesha MacPhail.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of killing the youngster on the Isle of Bute in July this year.

Alesha's mother Georgina Lochrane from Airdrie, who is a witness in the case, was given special permission by judge Lady Rae to be present in court to see the proceedings against the teenager accused of murdering her daughter.

The accused is said to have been armed with a knife when he took Alesha from her bed at a house on Ardbeg Road in Rothesay, Bute.

It is claimed the boy then carried the schoolgirl to the site of the former Kyles Hydropathic Hotel on the island.

The boy is said to have "applied pressure" to her face, inflicted injuries by "means unknown" with prosecutors alleging he went on to rape and murder Alesha.

The teenager then faces a separate charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

It is alleged he went to another house in Ardbeg Road before disposing of the clothes he had worn and then taking a shower to remove blood from his body.

This is said to have been done in a bid to "destroy or conceal evidence".

The boy's QC Brian McConnachie pleaded not guilty on his behalf.

The trial is to begin next February, lasting ten days.