An intrepid Press and Journal photographer went above and beyond the call of duty to capture on film an RAF helicopter stranded on a mountain - climbing for two hours to grab an exclusive picture.

Keen skier Sandy McCook, who is based at the paper's Inverness office, went far off piste on Cairngorm to find the aircraft, which was forced to land amid Arctic conditions during a rescue on Monday evening.

His efforts meant the P&J was able to provide exclusive images of the RAF Sea King helicopter, which was forced to land at Coire an t-Sneachda because its rotor blades were beginning to freeze up.

Sandy, (47), donned his mountain skis to brave white-out conditions and temperatures as low as -25 including wind-chill to climb about two miles and 1,500ft from the Cairngorm ski centre car park.

Born and bred in the Cairngorms, it took him just two hours to make the ascent.

His father used to be a member of Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team and Sandy (below) is a very experienced hillwalker.

He paid tribute to the pilot's skill in landing the helicopter.

He said: "When I was climbing, there were times you could not see your feet.

"This is the first time I can remember in the Cairngorms a helicopter has had to land for such a reason."

He said the job was one of the more unusual he had faced in 26 years as a professional photographer, adding: "It is certainly out of the ordinary when you think of what we are normally doing."

P&J head of photographic Joanna Fraser said: "Even taking into account the vast distances and inhospitable terrain encountered by our photographers on a daily basis, the dedication and commitment shown by Sandy in his desire to get the best picture was above and beyond the call of duty."