A HIGHLAND lawyer has collapsed and died while working out at his home gym.
Sixty-one-year-old Iain Innes was taken ill during an exercise session in the basement of his property in the Crown area of Inverness.
It is believed his partner returned home to find him slumped on the floor.
An ambulance was called and paramedics tried to revive Mr Innes but he was pronounced dead at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
Yesterday, tributes were paid to Mr Innes, who was the father of older children and a senior partner in law firm Craig Wood Solicitors, based in Union Street in the Highland capital.
He had worked at the practice for three decades and was a popular and well-respected figure in the north legal fraternity.
He represented a large number of clients at courts across the Highlands.
Mr Innes grew up in Inverness and went to Crown Primary and Inverness Royal Academy before obtaining his law degree at Glasgow University.
He returned north to work for Sutherland & Co before joining Craig Wood Solicitors.
Mr Innes had become senior partner at the firm in the past year following Mr Wood’s retirement.
Mr Innes was also a big Inverness Caley Thistle fan and was at the club’s match against Aberdeen on Friday evening.
He was also a staunch follower of Inverness-based Highland Rugby Club.
Neither Mr Wood nor fellow partner in the firm John MacColl could be contacted for comment yesterday.
However, a close friend said: “He was one of the brightest guys I ever met.
“I saw him earlier on Sunday and we were just laughing about the football.
“He was one hell of a character and will be sorely missed in many ways.”
Former procurator fiscal and solicitor David Hingston said Mr Innes’s death had come as a huge shock.
“He was a decent man and well liked and respected by the courts, other solicitors and his clients,” he said.
“He will be much missed.”
Mr Innes’s former clients also paid their own tributes last night. One said: “RIP to a good man who helped me and many others out of bad situations. If it wasn’t for Iain Innes, I probably wouldn’t have anything I have now.
“He was the one that got sense into my head and changed me. RIP. Always the good that get taken.”
Ken MacLeod, veteran lawyer and Inverness member of Highland Council, knew Mr Innes well.
He said: “Everyone is pretty shaken by Iain’s sudden death.
“He was a competent and thoughtful person and he was well respected by his colleagues and clients. I also remember him as being very helpful to other solicitors.”
Mr Innes died on Sunday evening.