A man who tried to cover up the fact that his mother killed his stepfather will benefit from the dead man's will, a sheriff has ruled.

Linda Tannock was jailed for seven years after she was convicted of killing her husband John Tannock in 2006.

Her son Graeme Brabson was convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice after he removed the knife used to stab his stepfather in the neck and hid it. He was sentenced to 240 hours community service.

The victim's mother Anne Tannock, from Greenock, launched a legal bid to stop her son's inheritance being given to Mr Brabson.

Sheriff Derek Livingston refused the civil action at Greenock Sheriff Court.

He ruled that to disinherit Mr Brabson, he would need to have been involved in the "planning or execution" of the killing, not just an attempt to cover it up afterwards.

Mrs Tannock was charged with murder but was convicted of culpable homicide after she stabbed her husband at their flat in Shore Road, Gourock.

She claimed she had snapped during a row after 20 years of mental torture.

But her victim's mother claimed she was a compulsive liar.

Mr Tannock's wife was the first person in line to benefit from her husband's will, but she was not eligible to receive a penny because of the forfeiture rule, which prevents people from benefiting in causing someone else's death.

Her stepson, Mr Brabson, of Rigby Street, Glasgow, was the next in line.

Mr Tannock's mother argued that Mr Brabson was an "accessory after the fact" and was "unworthy" to inherit any money.

Mr Brabson argued that he had not been involved in planning or carrying out his stepfather's death, but had just tried to help his mother.