A rapist who insisted he was "respectful" towards women has been jailed for almost nine years.

Steven Mays was jailed on Wednesday as a judge branded him a "serial offender" after the 40-year-old returned to the dock following his conviction for 14 charges against eight different women.

The crimes included rape and domestic violence on victims he was dating at the time. A jury heard how they suffered at his hands while they were pregnant.

Lord Matthews sentenced him to a total of eight years and eight months at the High Court in Glasgow and said evidence at the trial exposed a "campaign of physical and sexual violence".

The judge added: "I am satisfied that you are a serial offender and you present a risk to any future partner. I have to both punish you for these offences and try to protect, as far as I can, any woman who may fall under your influence."

Some of his victims returned to court to see him jailed. They wept and hugged as the sentence was passed but Mays, of Irvine, North Ayrshire, appeared to laugh towards them as he was led handcuffed to the cells.

His first victim was a woman he dated between 1995 and 1997. Mays claimed he loved her but the court heard he put her through a repeated sexual ordeal. He repeatedly raped the woman, now aged 38, including at a house in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, when she was pregnant.

The mother-to-be was also the victim of punches and kicks. She was later left choking as her boyfriend tried to force food into her mouth. The court heard how the woman had to resort to wearing shades to cover up a black eye. She also once turned up at work with a bandaged finger.

Mays claimed in evidence that he was not to blame adding: "I did not know she had a black eye ... she might have but I never noticed."

His next victim was a woman he charmed after meeting her at a bar in Irvine around 2000. She also soon suffered at his hands. He beat her with a clothes iron after she fell pregnant, punched her on the face and grabbed the scared woman by the throat. Mays then went on to rape his partner after having sex with her while she was asleep.

The woman, now also 38, recalled how she would wake up and Mays was "over her". He also raped her in 2002 at a house in Stewarton, East Ayrshire, when she returned from day out with a friend.

He went on to send the woman naked photos of herself he had taken without her knowing. Mays told the trial any sex with the woman was always "consensual".

In 2011, he then sexually assaulted a third victim, aged 40, at a property in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire. They met while she was helping a young relative of Mays build a snowman.

Like the second woman, he molested her while she was asleep. Mays again denied the accusation, insisting the relationship he had with her was like "friends with benefits".

Prosecutor Kath Harper suggested to Mays he was "aggressive and controlling" but he told the court: "I am just a normal, happy guy."

Ms Harper asked: "Would you say you are respectful to women?" Mays claimed: "Yes, I have made mistakes but I am respectful. I don't have a bad attitude towards women."

He insisted he had "no idea" why the accusations were made, saying: "When I was taken to the police station, I was not happy because I knew that it (the allegations) were not true."

While he denied all these claims, he did plead guilty during the trial to sending sexually explicit texts and photos to five different women, including a stranger.

This included him forwarding images of him carrying out a sex act. He also tried to get one of the females to send him naked pictures of herself. This all took place between 2004 and last year.

Mays was convicted by the jury of two rape charges against the first woman, assault and a charge under the Communications Act.

He was found guilty of raping and assaulting his second victim as well as sending her explicit messages. Mays was further convicted of sexually assaulting the third woman.

His QC Gary Allan said Mays continues to deny the allegations. Mays will also be supervised for a further four years on his release.