A manager in charge of a care home accused of causing the premature death of a pensioner has been suspended.

Pamela Tavendale has been banned for 18 months while an investigation into the death of Gladys Burr is carried out.

Mrs Burr died after suffering 54 accidents in just four months at Mowat Court in Stonehaven.

The Care Inspectorate found Mrs Burr had suffered falls, and nurses at the Southern Cross-run facility had given the 89-year-old a cocktail of drugs, leaving her in a permanent daze.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council said: "The Care Inspectorate report identified the high level of falls and the potential link to the administration of anti-psychotic and sedative medications.

"The panel is of the view that, based on the allegations before it, Miss Tavendale may present a risk and danger to public."

Mrs Burr, a mother-of-three, moved into the Aberdeenshire establishment in October 2011 but her condition deteriorated within weeks. She died on February 10 last year.

Daughter Sandra Marnoch said: "We thought it was a place where she would be safe. She just gave up in the end – they accelerated her death."