A tow-line has been attached to a Scottish trawler which has been in difficulties in the North Atlantic ocean for more than 24 hours.

The Audacious 2 sent out a mayday on Saturday evening after its engine room flooded and it lost power.

The flooding has been contained and although the ship is rolling heavily, the crew of six are not in any immediate danger.

The ship is being towed back towards Scotland by a Norwegian trawler, the Aarsheim Senior, at just two and a half knots.

The vessels are not expected to arrive in Mallaig, on Scotland's west coast, before Tuesday.

Weather conditions are difficult, with force eight gales and heavy waves slowing the journey down.

But Clyde coastguards monitoring the situation say that the weather should improve and hope the tow-line will hold.

Earlier efforts by an Irish trawler to tow the Audacious failed when the lines snapped on two occasions.

A coastguard spokesperson said: "The Aarsheim Senior managed to get a tow-line aboard and so far it is holding and they are progressing well.

"But it is extremely difficult to estimate their time of arrival because of the weather," he said.

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