A security firm director convicted of a £400,000 VAT fraud has been jailed.

Kevin McKay was the sole director of IPPS Ltd, which provided personal protection services, doormen for pubs and clubs, and guards at building sites, mainly in the north-east of Scotland.

The 46-year-old, from Aberdeen, was found guilty at the city's sheriff court last month of fraudulently evading VAT to the tune of more than £419,000.

He was locked up for four years when he returned to the court for sentencing on Friday, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said.

McKay, of Stewart Terrace in the city's Northfield area, was detained by HMRC officers in May 2013 and searches of his home, car and business premises were carried out.

Officials seized business and financial records from the premises, his clients and bank as part of their investigation.

HMRC said he was found to have charged his clients VAT but then lied on his tax returns, claiming his business was making less than a tenth of its actual sales. As a consequence, he pocketed £419,799.

In 2010, McKay also transferred over £100,000 of his criminal profits to a bank account in Romania, HMRC said.

He was convicted in February of the fraudulent evasion of the tax under the Value Added Tax Act. He was also found guilty of being knowingly concerned in removing criminal property of about £100,000 from Scotland, contrary to proceeds of crime laws.

McKay was given consecutive sentences of three years and one year on the charges, respectively, amounting to a total of four years behind bars.