Prosecutors have been given permission to re-try a man previously cleared of murdering his own mother.

Sean Flynn, 36, was acquitted by a jury at the High Court in Perth in 2005 after being accused of killing Louise Tiffney.

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Ms Tiffney, 43, went missing in Edinburgh's Dean Village in 2002. Her body had not been found by the time her son stood trial but a cyclist stumbled across human remains near the entrance of Gosford House at Longniddry, East Lothian, in April 2017.

A Police Scotland forensic tent was erected over the site and the remains were left in place while experts were drafted in to oversee their removal before they were formally identified as being Ms Tiffney.

Mr Flynn opposed the application, which was made by the Crown under the same double jeopardy legislation which led to now-deceased Angus Sinclair being convicted, at a second trial, for the World's End double murders.

On Thursday, three judges at the High Court in Edinburgh agreed to set aside the acquittal verdict and paving the way for the Lord Advocate, James Woolfe, QC, to re-indict Mr Flynn.

A Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service spokesman said: “The Crown application under the Double Jeopardy Act was allowed today.

“The previous acquittal was quashed.

"A fresh prosecution has been authorised and it will be for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to take the matter forward if they so choose.”

Edinburgh man could face retrial over 'murder' of own mother