A German tourist who killed a biker while driving on the wrong side of a Highland road has been jailed.

Matthias Hunecke drove for more than 400 yards in the wrong lane before fatally injuring Michael Gall, 51, in a head-on crash.

The 49-year-old businessman tried to blame his victim, despite CCTV and expert evidence establishing Hunecke was driving on the wrong side of the road.

At Dundee Sheriff Court, Judge Bain, KC, jailed him for 45 months and disqualified him from driving for six years and ten months.

She said: ‘It is concerning that despite CCTV footage showing you on the wrong side of the road and the expert evidence, you gave evidence that you were on the correct side and therefore Mr Gall was at fault.

'It is plain that the jury rejected that evidence. They were right to do so. You blamed the man whose death is on your hands and you have put his family through the pain of levelling blame at the man they loved.

‘All of this could have been avoided if you had accepted responsibility sooner.

‘Michael Gall was a loved husband and father. I have read the heart-rending and thoughtful letter from his widow. He was her best friend and soulmate.

‘The emotional turmoil and financial hardship the family now face in his absence is difficult for them to bear.’

Entrepreneur Hunecke was on holiday with his wife when they visited Invermiston Falls, near Inverness, in July 2022.

Shocking CCTV showed the moment Hunecke drove their hired car out of the car park and onto the opposite side of the A82 and into oncoming traffic.

He continued to drive in the wrong lane for nearly quarter of a mile before he collided with a Ducati motorcycle which was being driven by Mr Gall, 51. The biker died at the scene.

During his cross-examination by Advocate Depute Louise Beattie, Hunecke said he could not remember driving on the wrong side of the road.

He told the court: ‘When we collided, I was in the wrong lane, but before, I was right, and he was wrong.’

Despite his claims, a jury took just three hours to convict him of dangerous driving at the High Court in Inverness.

After the verdict, Judge Bain, KC, told Hunecke that he had brought an end to the life of Mr Gall, who had 22 years of experience on a motorcycle.

She said: ‘You will have to live with the devastating consequences - but live you will - unlike Michael.’

Mr Gall’s family called the verdict a ‘relief and a vindication’.