A firefighter who sexually attacked three women, including attempting to drag a stranger down an alleyway during a cocaine-fuelled bid to rape her, has been jailed for more than five years.

Predator Jamie Scott has also been placed on the sex offenders register for life.

The 34-year-old, who prowled the streets late at night to target one of his victims, was sent to prison for three years and six months after a jury at Perth Sheriff Court found him guilty of a string of stalking and sex attack offences against three women.

Sheriff William Wood added a further two-year extension period 'in order to protect the public from the risk of serious harm' after Scott's release from prison.

The jury heard how Scott snorted cocaine before 'prowling the streets of Dundee' and identifying a lone woman in the early hours of October 24, 2023.

He spotted his victim walking home alone and sidled up to her, before initially asking her to pretend to be his girlfriend. Scott then tried to grab her hand to pull her into the shadows with the intention of raping her.

The former lifeguard was found guilty of assaulting the woman with the intent to rape her.

He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting two other women in Perth and stalking one of them over a 16-week period.

Predator Jamie Scott has been jailed for five-and-a-half years after he was found guilty of a string of stalking and sex attack offences against three women

Sheriff Wood said: 'You behaved in a despicable way towards these women. You were predatory and custody is the only proper way this can be dealt with.

'You have been found guilty of a course of conduct affecting three young women from October 2023 to March 2024. It was three women in different sets of circumstances, which tends to suggest you are a sexual predator.

'That gives the court considerable cause for concern. Anyone who observed the trial would have been moved by the evidence. They were all plainly upset and distressed while recounting their experiences of your conduct.

'Reports on you do not present a particularly attractive picture. You indulge in victim-blaming, have a sense of entitlement and display ego-centric attitudes.

'You don't appear to accept any sense of responsibility for your actions. Having regard to the nature, seriousness and extent of the offending, I am satisfied only a custodial sentence is appropriate.'

Jurors heard how the then-Perth-based firefighter - a father-of-one - forced himself on his first victim at her home address in the city on October 7, 2023.

He kissed her once, repeatedly tried to kiss her again and placed his hand under her clothing and sexually touched her. After this he stalked her for nearly four months.