A man who raped and sexually assaulted children while he was a pupil at a blind school may never be freed from prison.

From the age of 12, David Penman attacked eight fellow pupils at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh in the 1980s and 1990s.

He went on to commit further sexual assaults later in his life, in one case attacking a disabled neighbour in her home.

The 43-year-old has now been handed an order for lifelong restriction at the High Court in Edinburgh, after being found guilty last year of 11 sexual offences at the blind school.

The sentence means Penman will be jailed for at least four years and will only be released when the parole board deems him safe to return to society.

Handing down the sentence on Thursday, Lord Uist said Penman was "an evil and dangerous man" who had a "deeply ingrained propensity for sexual violence."

Penman's offences at the blind school related to six girls and two boys, who were aged between 12 and 16.

All of his victims were blind or partially sighted, as he is.

In June 1999, Penman attacked a disabled neighbour in Inverness after entering her house without permission and forcing her on to a bed.

In October the same year, he raped an 18-year-old woman after holding a knife to her throat. He was later jailed for at least ten years for the offences, but returned to prison in 2008 after breaching the terms of his licence.

He has spent 16 of the last 18 years of his life in prison.