A man has been found guilty of murdering his best friend on a camping weekend.

William Cameron, 39, from Paisley, was jailed for a minimum of 17 years.

Cameron hit 43-year-old Darryl Fitch, from Paisley, Renfrewshire, over the head with a blunt instrument, causing him to fall into water and drown.

The attack took place at the River Gryffe, known as Locher Water, near Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, between July 10 and 13, 2015.

Judge Lord Mulholland told Cameron, who claimed in evidence his friend had been killed by a stranger: "Why you did this no one knows, except you."

The High Court in Glasgow heard although Cameron had access to his friend's working mobile phone as well as a whistle, he did not use them to summon help.

Mr Fitch's body was found on Monday, July 13, 2015, in shallow water near the campsite by two fishermen.

He was lying face-down in the water with four large wounds to the back of his head.

Pathologist Dr Marjorie Turner told the jurors he also had injuries consistent with falling from a height.

She said the cause of death was massive blood loss from the head injuries and drowning.

Mr Fitch had 26 separate injuries including a black eye, a fractured eye socket and four deep wounds to the back of his head, five broken ribs and a fractured neck bone.

The court heard police found Cameron sitting yards away with a broken leg and suffering from suspected hypothermia and dehydration.

In evidence, Cameron denied the murder and said of Darryl: "He was like a brother. He always looked out for me. We had a good relationship. He was a good guy."

He said his memory of the weekend was vague.

Prosecutor Richard Goddard told the court Cameron kept changing his stories .

He said: "It stretches credulity to suggest a mystery figure came out of the shadows and attacked Darryl Fitch."