The brother of a nurse who went missing in Scotland only to found in the boot of her car said today he never gave up hope she was alive.

Refilwe Makola, 35, flew from his home in South Africa to be with his sister Magdeline and arrived in time to celebrate the new year with her.

The 38-year-old nurse, from Livingston in West Lothian, is recovering in hospital after being found on Boxing Day, 11 days after she disappeared.

Mr Makola has visited his sister every day since he arrived in Scotland on Tuesday and said she was making a good recovery from her ordeal.

He said: "She is very strong and she is laughing now and starting to make some jokes.

"When I arrived she just laughed and opened her hands to hug me and asked about my journey and it ended up with her being more concerned about me rather than me being concerned about her."

Mr Makola would not comment on the treatment his sister was receiving but said she was doing "fine".

Lothian and Borders Police said Ms Makola may have been trapped in the boot for up to ten days.

A man appeared in court on December 29 charged with attempting to murder her.

Ms Makola is the eldest of seven siblings and is the only girl.

Her brother said it was very difficult for the family when she went missing.

He said: "She is not the kind who would leave the house without telling you where she is going.

"While she was missing my mother was always thinking that something had happened to her but I had a very strong instinct that Magdeline was alive and I was always telling my mother that Magdeline is fine and that is how it turned out."

He added: "It was very difficult and very tough for the whole family to have a family person missing."