A 70-year-old bottle of whisky has sold for nearly £43,000 at auction.

The Private Collection Glenlivet - one of the rarest whiskies ever produced - was sold to an unnamed Chinese buyer last week.

It was bottled in 1943 at the height of the Second World War, when only a handful of distilleries were still producing whisky.

McTear's auction house whisky expert Graeme Maxwell said: "We have seen some exceptional bottles come through the doors at McTear's over the years and there is no doubt this sits as one of the most magnificent whiskies we have had the privilege to auction.

"The Private Collection Glenlivet 1943 is revered amongst whisky connoisseurs and we were delighted to see it make such a good price at our Rare & Collectable Whisky Auction."

The rare whisky market is on the rise, with more than £16m of sought-after Scotch sold in the first half of the year.

A bottle of the world's most expensive whisky - a 60-year-old Macallan - will go under the hammer in Edinburgh in October.

The Macallan Valerio Adami is expected to sell for between £700,000 and £900,000.