Sir Paul McCartney has fired a loyal caretaker from his Scottish estate after twenty years of service.

Jimmy Paterson is said to be shocked at being given three months notice by the musician to vacate the High Park Farm on the Mull of Kintyre, where he is the live-in caretaker.

It is believed estate manager Bobby Cairns, 52, who lives in nearby Campbeltown, has also been let go after 35 years.

A source close to Jimmy, 50, told The Sun newspaper: ''They are very upset. They have been loyal servants to Paul and did the whole vegetarianism thing with no killing on the farm. They stuck to his principles so it seems quite harsh to dump them now.''

However, a source close to Paul claims the farm - which spans 600-acres after the singer bought two farms neighbouring the original estate he purchased in 1966 as a place to get away from the spotlight - has fallen into disrepair.

The friend said: ''The land has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair this last 15 years or so, hence making the change in management.

''They want to bring the land back up to scratch and make it workable again. It's time for a change. The Forestry Commission will be involved and Paul's people are taking advice on what to do with the land going forward.''

Paul - who was inspired to write Wings' 1977 hit 'Mull of Kintyre' by the property - regularly visited the property with his first wife Linda and their children Heather, Stella, Mary and James, who are all now adults, in the 70s and 80s. Sources claim Paul hasn't been to the farm much since her death in 1998.

There is a statue of her cradling a lamb in a memorial garden in Campbeltown.