A convicted rapist who carried out a sex attack on a neighbour has been given a life sentence.

David Reid was jailed for four years and three months for pouncing on the 63-year-old woman at her home in Edinburgh in October 2017.

The 61-year-old knocked on her door one morning while clutching a bottle of whisky.

He went on to pull out a knife and grabbed the sobbing woman, who barely knew Reid.

After threatening to "slit" her throat, he forced her into the hall and raped her saying: "If you don't shut up, I will slit your throat."

Reid returned to the High Court in Glasgow after earlier admitting to a rape charge.

A judge heard how he already had a lengthy list of serious sex convictions stretching back to the late 1970s.

This included Reid being jailed for ten years for rape and attempted rape in 1998.

He was also previously guilty of indecent assault and having sex with a girl as young as 13.

The judge told Reid: "This was a disturbing and violent rape of a vulnerable woman."

He added the serial rapist had been deemed a "high risk" of committing even more similar crimes.

Lord Clark said Reid would only be freed whenever the parole board decided it was safe to do so.

The victim pleaded she had been due to visit her mother that day.

But Reid told her: "You won't see your mum today. You have to do everything I say."

The hysterical woman eventually managed to escape onto the street where Reid initially gave chase before other neighbours came to her aid.

The victim suffered bruising to her face, neck, arm and back.

Reid was also put on the sex offenders list for an indefinite period.

Chief Inspector Martin Maclean said: "Reid carried out a terrifying attack on a lone female occupant that left her fearing for her life.

"The members of the public who came to the woman's aid after she fled from Reid played a vital role in ensuring we were able to apprehend them and I wish to thank them for their help.

"I also want to commend the bravery of the victim whose testimony and support of our investigation resulted in a conviction. It is my sincere hope that this sentence brings some closure and comfort to to her."