Boy, 7, among road crash victims

A seven-year-old boy was one of four people who died in three separate accidents on Scotland's roads in less than four hours on Friday evening.

Benjamin Paton, from Peebles in the Borders, was killed in a crash on the A9 near Perth at about 1820 GMT.

A 59-year-old man died following a collision between two cars in Dalry, Ayrshire, at about 1745 GMT.

And two men, aged 23 and 24, died when a car left the carriageway on the A947 in Aberdeenshire at about 2100 GMT.

It is understood the car plunged down an embankment at an accident blackspot, south of Turriff.

In the Perth accident, firefighters from Tayside Fire and Rescue cut Benjamin's father Allan Paton free from the wreckage of the crash at the Tibbermore junction.

The 44-year-old is in a serious condition in Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

Strathclyde Police said the Ayrshire crash happened when the man was driving his Vauxhall Corsa along Townsend Street but lost control and collided with a Mazda 323 travelling in the opposite direction.

The man was taken by ambulance to Crosshouse Hospital but died a short time later. The 38-year-old female driver of the Mazda was not hurt.