THE MEARNS village of Catterline is in mourning following the grim discovery of the body of an elderly man on the shoreline.

Police and coastguard teams mounted a joint operation after the man was reported missing from his home on Monday.

He has been named as 78-year-old Joseph Duff of Burnside Cottages in the village.

He had lived alone since the death of his twin brother some years ago.

He was a popular, well known figure in the small community, walking his beloved black and white collie Spud up to three times a day often along the shore.

The alarm was raised when a resident spotted the dog running loose in the village.

The police were called when it became clear his owner was not at home.

Officers forced entry to his cottage and then alerted the coastguard.

Mr Duff was found at 3.20pm at the water line on the south side of the bay.

A police spokesman said there were no suspicious circumstances.