Around £170,000 has been returned to the Highland Hospice

A charity which lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in a phone scam has recovered some of the missing funds.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds were stolen from the Highland Hospice in July, as part of scam which targeted companies across the Highlands.

The hospice has so far managed to recover around £170,000 of the money and is hopeful that further cash can be retrieved.

"We are hopeful that all the funds can be recovered," said chief executive Kenny Steele.

"Bank of Scotland has said that it could take up to six weeks to identify where all the funds have gone and to take full recovery action.

"As we are approaching the end of this six-week period since the crime was committed we are working closely with the bank to secure the remaining funds."

The vishing fraud resulted in around £2.5 million being stolen from a number of organisations. Vishing takes place via phone calls when fraudsters encourage victims to give out personal details, such as card, PIN or card reader codes. The fraudsters often pretend to be from a bank or the police.

Police Scotland said last month it was aware of other attempts against hospices of this nature recently but it has not been established if these are linked to the Highland Hospice case.