An island community has marked the 40th anniversary of a lifeboat disaster which claimed the lives of eight men.

Flags have flown at half mast in Orkney in memory of those who died when the Longhope lifeboat TGB capsized on March 17, 1969.

The tragedy happened after the lifeboat set out from Hoy to help the Liberian-registered Irene, which had reported problems amidst huge waves and a Force 9 gale.

Radio contact was later lost with the TGB, which was found next day floating upside down in the Pentland Firth.

There were no survivors, with the bodies of all but one of the crew found underneath the hull. Irene and her crew were brought ashore safely. On Sunday, relatives attended a commemoration service at Dunnet, Caithness.

However, no official ceremonies of remembrance were held on Tuesday with victims' families preferring to mark the occasion privately.

Tony Trickett, operations manager of the Longhope lifeboat, said islanders would remember the tragedy in their "own quiet way".

He said: "There are still some widows on the island and they decided they would rather not do anything specific today - they live within sight of the lifeboat shed and see it every day. We will commemorate the tragedy in our own quiet way as we have done for many years.

"We in the lifeboat service will always remember this and my own flag is flying at half mast today. It was the most dreadful of tragedies and is still very much in people's minds. But support for the lifeboat remains - we are a lifeboat community and have been since 1874."