The bodies of the seven Scottish fishermen who lost their lives on the Solway Harvester have been brought home.

A cortege of funeral cars carried the coffins of the men in quiet procession to their home villages after a plane transporting them from the Isle of Man had landed at RAF West Freugh, in Wigtownshire.

Relatives of the Galloway fishermen, who were on the Isle of Man when divers recovered the bodies on Friday, had already flown home to make preparations for the funerals which have been scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

The three communities of Isle of Whithorn, Whithorn and Garlieston have been united in their grief following the sinking of the vessel.

The funerals would mark the end of more than four long weeks for the families, as they waited for their bodies to be recovered from the scallop dredger, which sank in poor conditions off the coast of the Isle of Man on 11 January.

On Friday, the families watched in grief as the bodies were finally returned from the sea.

With a lone piper playing in the background, they stood on a sheltered walkway over the isle's Douglas harbour as the supply vessel Scotian Shore transported their loved ones to shore.

Fresh attempts to raise the vessel failed again on Sunday and the vessel was expected to remain on the sea bed for at least the next few weeks until better weather gives the Isle of Man authorities a chance to raise her.

Before the relatives flew home, Chief Inspector Dudley Butt, of Isle of Man Constabulary, told them of the latest development regarding the wreck.

Calm weather

"They are very grateful to have their boys back for burial and they understand that the weather is too bad to raise the Solway Harvester," he said.

"The raising of the vessel was never a priority for them at this time. They just wanted to get the bodies off the wreck so they could bury their men.

"We need calm weather to raise the wreck so we may have to wait a few weeks, or even until spring or summer, but we will raise it.

"In the meantime we can get on with the inquiry into why she sank, using the video footage we have taken of the wreck and statements we have."

Dumfries and Galloway Police said the joint funeral of skipper Andrew Craig Mills, 29, his brother Robin, 33, and their cousin David, 17, would take place at Isle of Whithorn Parish Church at 1500 GMT on Wednesday.

The private funerals of Martin Milligan, 26, John Murphy, 22, David Lyons, 18, and Wesley Jolly, 17, would be held on Thursday.