Paul van Vlissingen owns an estate in Wester Ross

Dutch oil and gas magnate Paul van Vlissingen, who last year headed Scotland's rich list, has rejected treatment for terminal cancer.

He owns the 60,000-acre Letterewe estate in Wester Ross, making him the biggest foreign landowner in Scotland.

Mr van Vlissingen, 64, has made the donation in the form of scholarships to Sabhal Mor Ostaig college at Sleat.

It brings to �250,000 the amount of money he and his former partner Professor Caroline Tisdall have donated to the college over the last five years.

Mr van Vlissingen was said by his spokeswoman to be "in good spirits".

No chance

The businessman has previously said there was no chance of recovery and that chemotherapy was not an option.

He said such treatment would only prolong his life by a couple of months.

Mr van Vlissingen said he was adopting the native American way of looking at death. He said they use the time they have left to concentrate on the good times with family and friends.

Mr van Vlissingen, whose assets are valued at about �1.1bn, owns SHV Holdings, a Dutch conglomerate with interests in energy, retailing, transport and financial services.