A rapist subjected a four-year-old girl and several women to a catalogue of violence and serious sexual assaults over nearly four decades.

Kenneth Watt, 46, was absent from the dock when jurors at the High Court in Edinburgh convicted him on Tuesday of brutalising his victims over a 37-year period.

Watt, of Kirkcaldy, Fife, earlier disrupted proceedings by shouting from the dock, forcing judge Lord Brailsford to adjourn his trial for 24 hours.

He then sacked his lawyer and told his new legal representative that he would not be present in court to hear his victims tell the court of his abuse.

The trial heard from several women who disclosed they were the victims of a number of crimes committed by Watt during the period of 1979 to 2016.

These included repeated physical and sexual assaults as well as multiple rapes.

Watt was also found to have committed violent physical and sexual assaults upon a four-year-old girl, beginning in 1990.

All the incidents took place at various addresses in Kirkcaldy.

When Watt was finally arrested and taken into custody he assaulted a female police officer who was interviewing him.

On Tuesday, jurors convicted Watt of rape, sexual assault and physical assault charges.

Lord Brailsford said Watt's latest convictions showed there had been an "escalation" in his offending behaviour.

The judge deferred sentence until May for the court to obtain reports.

Detective inspector James Leeson said Watt had inflicted "deplorable" suffering on his victims.

He added: "I want to commend the courage of the women who were brave enough to come forward and give evidence against him which has been crucial in securing this conviction.

"I would like to thank each of these individuals for all of their assistance and support throughout our enquiries and the subsequent court trial. I hope that they can take some comfort following today's verdict and begin to move forward with their lives."