A man found tangled in a barbed wire security fence at an industrial estate may have died during an attempted break in.

John Renfrew's body was discovered draped over the 10ft-high fence at an industrial estate in Inverness.

The 37-year-old appears to have caught his jacket in barbed wire as he climbed over the fence at Carse in Inverness.

He was discovered by an employee turning up for work at 7.30am on Thursday, January 5. He was trapped in fencing which separates Highland Slaters from Stone Source on the industrial estate.

It is not known how long he had been trapped on the fence during sub-zero temperatures overnight.

Mr Renfrew, who regularly appeared in the dock of the city's courts, was due at the Justice of the Peace Court the following day on a charge of possessing cannabis resin.

James MacRae, owner of Highland Slaters, said: "We were off, but the police phoned because they needed access in to our yard.

"I was able to go down right away and open it. I had no idea what was going on.

"It was a bit of a shock. The guy had apparently climbed into the yard, had a wander around, and then he tried to climb from the Stone Source yard into my yard, but got caught on the fencing.

"There was absolutely nothing of value in my yard, the building was empty."

Northern Constabulary chief inspector Graeme Murdoch said: "Full police enquiries were conducted into the incident.

"With the information available, we are content there are no suspicious circumstances in terms of the death.

"A report has been sent to the procurator fiscal and a post-mortem has been carried out."

Inverness central councillor Janet Campbell said: "How very sad that a life has been lost by what would appear to be a tragic accident. My thoughts are with his family and friends."