THE family of an elderly farmer who died in hospital after being found unconscious outside his house have made a fresh appeal for information seven years on.

Sandy Ingram, 80, was treated in the high-dependency unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after being found with serious head injuries outside his remote farmhouse in Newmachar, Aberdeenshire, on June 19 2010.

At the time, it was thought he had gone out to investigate the sighting of two men on his land, but detectives could not question him about what happened because his injury left him unable to speak.

He died almost a year later on June 2, 2011 but his son Andrew said the family were still looking for answers as they made a fresh plea for information.

He said: “We are still hopeful that someone, somewhere knows what happened to my father that night. The last seven years have been extremely difficult for us as a family without him here to share birthdays, Christmases and anniversaries, and even everyday life is difficult as it is always on our minds.

“What makes it even harder is that we don’t know what happened to him that night and are still looking for answers. We often thought he was trying to tell us things when he was in hospital, but the extent of his injuries meant he was unable to speak to us. I’m sure there is someone out there who can help us.”