A sailor who caused the death of a teenage fisherman wept in court as a judge jailed him for eight months.

Second officer Pasquale Miccio, 48, was in charge of the Scottish Viking ferry when it collided with the prawn fishing boat Homeland at St Abbs Head.

The High Court in Edinburgh had heard how the fatal collision took place on August 5, 2010, four miles off the the town of Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders.

Miccio, of Sorrento, Italy, repeatedly failed to change course or heed warnings from crew members about the proximity of the vessel to his boat.

His incompetence caused Daniel McNeil, 16, of Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear, to drown. Mr McNeil's 20-year-old brother Joseph who was skipper, was rescued. Daniel's body was recovered three months later and he was identified by his distinctive trainers.

On Monday, Miccio's defence advocate Dorothy Bain QC urged judge Lord Bannatyne not to jail her client. She said her client was a first offender and the law allowed the judge to impose a fine.

But Lord Bannatyne said the offence was so serious he had no other option but to send him to jail. Passing sentence, the judge said the maximum sentence available to him was two years.

He said: "What happened on that day was a dreadful tragedy which resulted in this young man being dying at a very early stage of his life.

"His family have been deprived of a much-loved, cherished son and brother. They have undoubtedly been left devastated at their loss.

"It is impossible for the court to do anything to ease the suffering that they as a family have experienced. It appears to me that your grave failings and omissions were the primary cause to in this collision.

"I have also concluded that the imposition of a custodial sentence is the only option available to me."

Mr McNeil's family welcomed the verdict. Standing outside the high court, Daniel's father Donald said: "We're glad it's a custodial sentence because that allows the sea to be safer for a while."

Miccio, who was originally charged with culpable homicide, pleaded guilty to breaching the 1995 Merchant Shipping Act at the High Court in Glasgow in March.

At the earlier hearing, the court heard how the Scottish Viking had a gross tonnage of 26,904. It had an overall length of 186m.

In comparison, the Homeland was only 11m long and and had a gross tonnage of 22.59. The Scottish Viking was sailing between Rosyth, Fife, and Zeebrugge in Belgium.

Following the impact, the two brothers managed to scramble on to the wheelhouse roof but within seconds the boat sank.

Prosecution lawyer Andrew Brown QC told the court he two men did not have enough time to put their life jackets on. Two other trawlers had gone to their aid.

Mr Brown said: "They saw Joseph McNeil in the water and threw a life ring to him and he was pulled aboard.

"Daniel was trying to get to the surface. They saw Daniel's hand and also his head came up to the surface and another fisherman Andrew Auld screamed 'Dan' but by the time he looked back Daniel was gone."

The court also heard that at the time of the collision, Miccio was in control of the ship and visibility was described "as excellent" and the sea was calm.

The court heard crew member Domenico Furio warned Miccio three times about approaching fishing boats.

After the final warning, Miccio changed course and told Mr Furio to go to port and then sounded the ferry's whistle.

Two other fishing boats also changed course to avoid the ferry but the Homeland maintained the same course. Expert witnesses concluded Miccio was at fault.

Ms Bain told the court Miccio had been a sailor for 34 years and had never been in trouble with the authorities. She said he was "profoundly sorry".

The Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) also welcomed the verdict.

Allan Marsh, who was in charge of the investigation into the incident, described it as one of the worst collisions he had encountered in his career.

Mr Marsh, an enforcement officer, said: "It was so bad because there were several opportunities for the ship to avoid the collision. These opportunities were not taken. The collision was most certainly avoidable."

"We're never going to know why this happened because Mr Miccio never gave an account explaining his actions."