A 78-year-old motorcyclist has been seriously injured after colliding with a car in Aberdeenshire.
Emergency services were called to the Craigdam junction, just north of Oldmeldrum, following the incident involving a red Honda bike and black Hyundai Santa Fe.
The biker was taken to hospital in a critical condition. There was no update on the extent of his injuries available last night.
The 61-year-old man driving the car was uninjured.
Police closed off the B9170 Methlick to Oldmeldrum road for eight hours while collision inspectors examined the scene to establish what happened.
Investigators could be seen looking through the nearby grass and examining bushes off the side of the road.
The Hyundai came to a stop near a bend on the approach to Meldrum House Hotel, with the nearside significantly damaged and a tyre smashed loose.
Officers are now appealing for anyone who witnessed the crash, which happened at about 12.10pm on Saturday, or saw either vehicle beforehand to get in touch to help with their investigation.
Mid-Formartine councillor Andrew Hassan said: “Although we have been relatively lucky and there have been few serious accidents on this particular stretch of the B9170 recently, one accident is one too many, and my thoughts are with the family of this poor individual, and I wish him a speedy recovery.
“When council resumes, I will seek to find out if there are any safety improvements which may be required at this junction.
“It’s a rural road, but it’s also quite a busy road, so there is a good chance that someone who was driving in this area on Saturday may have seen either of these vehicles before the crash took place, or indeed the crash itself.”
The police have asked anyone who saw the crash, or has any information which could help their inquiries, to phone 101.
The collision on Saturday follows a number of incidents on the B9170 this summer.
On June 29, two cars crashed on the route between Inverurie and Oldmeldrum, just days after a one-vehicle crash on the same section of road on June 23 in wet conditions.
Both of the incidents were minor, with the occupants of the vehicles escaping serious injuries.