A businessman who killed a pensioner by dangerous driving is planning to appeal his conviction.

Vincent Friel, 44, claimed he experienced a "total loss of control of his actions" after fainting at the wheel of his Range Rover moments before the vehicle ploughed into Charlotte Collins, 68, at a pedestrian crossing.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard last month how Ms Collins and her cousin Margaret Haldane, 69, were struck by the 4x4 close to the Silverburn Shopping Centre in Glasgow. He was jailed for three years on Wednesday for the offence.

Ms Collins, who lived in Pollok, Glasgow, died in hospital shortly after the January 2014 incident on Barrhead Road. Her London-based relative needed emergency treatment.

Friel, who owns a property letting business, was taking blood pressure medication at the time of the collision. He was also taking Viagra and medicine to take away headaches that were brought on by having sex.

It was claimed the combined medicine caused his blood pressure to drop to such a low level as to cause him to faint. A jury of nine women and six men took an hour and 40 minutes to reject his defence last month.

They returned guilty verdicts to charges of causing the death of Ms Collins and the serious injury of Ms Haldane by driving dangerously.

His lawyer Richard Freeman said: "Mr Friel's position is that he was stopped at the red light when he blacked out.

"Because his car is an automatic it moved forward when his foot came off the brake and it struck Ms Collins and Ms Haldane. We are looking at lodging an appeal against this conviction."

On Wednesday, temporary judge John Morris QC sentenced Friel, of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, to three years in prison.

The judge told him: "You were a normal, respectable member of the community until the date of this accident.

“I take into account the exceptionally slow speed your vehicle was travelling at. However, you drove through a pedestrian crossing on a red light causing the death of one lady and injuring another.

"Miss Collins relatives have lost a much loved family member. The effect on the families has been devastating.

"No sentence I can pass will assuage such devastation. No sentence passed by a judge will ever be viewed by the families as adequate."

During the trial, jurors saw footage of the incident from CCTV cameras on Barrhead Road. Ms Haldane told the court she was crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing when she and her late cousin were hit.

She said she lay on the ground in the moments following the collision not knowing what had happened to her cousin.

Ms Haldane added: "I couldn't see her. I couldn't hear her. Nobody told me anything."

She said she learned of her relative's death while she was being treated in hospital later that evening, adding: "I didn't find out until half seven or something. I heard she was dead. Her son John came into see me and actually told me."

Mr McSporran submitted a victim impact statement from relatives of the deceased to Mr Morris. Mr McSporran said he did not want to read the contents of the "emotional" statement out in open court.

Defence QC Edward Targowski told the court on Wednesday that the incident happened at very low speed, estimated to be as low as 4mph.

Mr Targowski said: "Mr Friel is completely devastated at the result of this incident. He is fully aware of the pain and damage that were inflicted on both families and says it must be unimaginable.

"Excessive speed was not a factor here. He has been driving for 25 years and has shown genuine shock and remorse. Immediately after the incident he phoned the emergency services and tried to assist."