A Free Church of Scotland minister is staging a fundraising concert to help two Highland men buy special mobility equipment.
The Rev Alex MacDonald and his folk rock band are playing at the Capstone Centre in Alness tomorrow in aid of Ally MacLeod, of Milnafua, and Jack Sutherland, of Brora, who have lost use of their legs and are wheelchair bound.
The guitar playing minister, who was born and brought up in the Strath of Kildonan in Sutherland, hopes to raise about £1,000 to help Mr MacLeod to buy a motorised scooter and Mr Sutherland a special bike.
Father-of-two Mr MacLeod was admitted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness with a pinhole rupture to his oesophagus and was initially given three hours to live.
His wife Diana said: “The past three years have been a struggle.
“Ally has various physical and cognitive disabilities but the girls still have their dad and I still have my husband, which is something we did not think we would have.”
Mr MacLeod said a motorised scooter would give him more independence.
Mr Sutherland was badly injured in a car accident two years ago and is now confined to a wheelchair.
Mr MacDonald, a singer songwriter who leads Buccleuch Free Church in Edinburgh, said: “I am delighted to help this great cause.
“These bikes will make a real difference for Ally and Jack.”
Mr MacDonald is also playing a homecoming gig in Kildonan Hall on Saturday.
“It’ll be great to play in the hall where I used to go to Christmas parties as a kid,” he said.
“Last summer I sang a couple of songs there as part of the 200th anniversary commemoration of the Kildonan Clearances, and I thought it would be a great place for my band to play.
“My son Rob will be on drums with Cailean Morison on keyboard. Scottish folk-rock is the general sound.”