A man convicted of a brutal murder 18 years ago in a case which shocked the Highlands could be cleared.

James Casey, 44, was convicted at the High Court in Inverness of robbing and murdering 37-year-old Ian MacBeth at Invergordon in 2001.

The 37-year-old was struck at least eight times on the head by a hammer during the horrific attack.

Casey, then 26, was sent to prison for 20 years but had his sentence reduced to 11 on appeal.

Co-accused George McNairn, then 23, was cleared on the murder charge but found guilty of robbery and sentenced to 18 months.

Now the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the case to the High Court after examining new DNA evidence suggesting there may have been a miscarriage of justice.

They said the main evidence against Casey was forensic evidence of bloodstained clothing, including two pairs of gloves, and other items bundled together in a black bin liner.

The High Court in Inverness was told that these had Casey's fingerprints and were disposed of by him following the murder.

A spokesman for the commission, which examines alleged miscarriages of justice, said: "The commission instructed DNA analysis of the two pairs of gloves found within the black bin liner.

"The DNA findings constitute fresh evidence of such significance that the verdict of the jury, reached in ignorance of its existence, may have led to a miscarriage of justice."

Casey was released in October 2002, but four weeks later he robbed a post office in West Lothian, making off with £1,400.

He was identified by his victim and sent back to jail for a minimum of 14 years after a trial at Edinburgh High Court in 2003.