A driver who fell asleep at the wheel and caused a crash that resulted in an off-duty police officer losing a leg has been jailed.

Judge Lord Bannatyne sentenced Alan Tait to seven years and three months in prison and also banned him from driving for ten years when he appeared for sentence at the High Court at Lanark on Monday.

Tait's Volvo crashed into Ewan Simpson, 32, as he headed home from work on his motorbike last October.

Mr Simpson was left for dead in a dark field as Tait fled without calling for help. The officer was only rescued when two passing nurses saw Tait's car in the field and heard Mr Simpson's cries.

Tait, 36, who was uninsured at the time, pled guilty to a charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The crash happened on the A952 road near Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, shortly after midnight on October 27, as the officer was heading home from his shift at nearby Fraserburgh police station.

The court heard Ewan suffered multiple fractures to his right foot, ankle and lower leg.

Advocate depute Lynsey Rodger said: "The leg could not be saved and, later that day, it was amputated below the knee."

Mr Simpson spent nearly two months in hospital, where he received bone grafts and had a metal plate inserted into his body.

The accusation Tait pled guilty to had also included an allegation that he was driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, but this was deleted from the charge.

He admitted five other charges including culpable and reckless conduct by failing to get help for Ewan.