A man who murdered oil worker Steven Donaldson has been found dead in prison on the day his accomplices failed to reduce their sentences.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) confirmed Steven Dickie's death at HMP Perth on Friday.

Police Scotland have been informed and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held in due course, as is customary for all deaths in prison.

The 24-year-old's death came as accomplices Tasmin Glass and Callum Davidson had their jail sentence appeals rejected for their involvement in Mr Donaldson's death last year.

Mr Donaldson was stabbed 26 times in Kirriemuir, Angus, on June 6, 2018.

The 27-year-old tried to escape, but his spinal cord was severed in two places by a weapon such as a sword or a machete, and then both he and his car were set on fire.

In May, Glass, the ex-girlfriend of Mr Donaldson, was sentenced to ten years in jail for her part in the killing.

Dickie and Davidson were each jailed for life with a minimum of 23 and 24 years respectively for the murder.

Following a "notice of intention", both Glass and Davidson lodged appeals to fight their sentences.

Dickie also lodged a "notice of intention", but failed to submit his appeal by the deadline date.

Glass was pregnant with Mr Donaldson's baby, but their relationship ended and she began having a sexual relationship with Dickie.

On the night of the murder, Glass lured Mr Donaldson to the Peter Pan Playpark telling him she wanted to talk about their relationship and discuss insurance money she owed him from a written-off car.

Unknown to her ex-boyfriend, she had also arranged for Dickie and Davidson to meet them there.

When they arrived, Glass sped off from the scene and left Mr Donaldson to be murdered.

The offshore worker from Arbroath was taken to the Loch of Kinnordy nature reserve, where the brutal assault continued.

He suffered 26 stab wounds while his jaw was broken, possibly with a baseball bat.

During the trial, prosecutors said Glass facilitated the killing, that both she, Dickie and Davidson all sourced a baseball bat together, before the attack took place.

The court heard Dickie's testimony described as "absurd", that Davidson was a calculating character and Glass used Dickie and Davidson in a web of lies about her relationships.

Judge Lord Pentland told Glass she lured Mr Donaldson to the place where he was attacked and eventually lost his life.

He added: "You returned home where you continued to go on with your normal routine. You showed a chilling coolness.

"You are manipulative and devious in advancing your own interests."

Chief inspector Andy Patrick, who led the murder investigation, said the vicious killing "could not have happened" without Glass setting it up.

He said: "From an early stage we identified that Tasmin Glass played a key role assisted by Steven Dickie and Callum Davidson.

"You can see the collusion of the three people that it has been a planned attack. They sourced a weapon beforehand. There was reconnaissance of the two key areas.

"That demonstrates there has been planning and thinking around this before it took place. Without Tasmin luring Steven Donaldson to Peter Pan park this couldn't have happened."