A jury trial against two islanders accused of housebreaking has collapsed.
Brothers, Alister Macaulay and Ian Macaulay, had faced a charge of breaking into a flat in Stornoway earlier this year and stealing a number of items.
The start of the trial was delayed by a day this week while a main witness was traced. A warrant was issued to bring her to court.
Only about 20 minutes of evidence was heard before the procurator fiscal requested an adjournment. Later the fiscal told Sheriff Chris Dickson no further evidence would be led.
The two brothers -
Earlier, the first witness was advised by Sheriff Chris Dickson that she had the right not to "disclose anything which might incriminate you in a criminal case."
Housebreaking trial collapses
16 September 2016
The witness said she had previously been friendly with the householder and had left a pair of black coloured stiletto shoes with pink polka dots at his flat.
They later fell out and she never got them back despite many requests, she told the procurator fiscal, Karen Smith.
The witness declined to answer when asked if she had been at the flat in April or if she had been there with other people.
She agreed police had asked her about the flat.
The witness said she did not know why she was called to court and indicated she thought she would have been in the dock along with the two accused.
After the trial was abandoned the woman gave the sheriff an explanation why she did not attend on the first day as required.