A taxi driver who admitted carrying £200,000 worth of heroin to Scotland has been jailed for 32 months.

John Arnold, 45, of George Street, Whitefield, Manchester, was driving north on the A74(M) when police stopped him for routine checks near Lockerbie.

Officers noticed he was nervous and carried out a drugs search of his taxi where they found four packs of heroin.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Judge Lord Brailsford described it as an "act of gross folly and stupidity".

The court heard how police officers stopped him on the motorway in the south of Scotland in August last year.

They noticed Arnold appeared nervous and was vague and evasive when he spoke to them.

They also spotted a carrier bag sticking out from beneath the front passenger seat and detained him for a drugs search.

Police officers found four packages wrapped in brown paper each containing a half kilogramme of heroin.

The haul was worth a maximum of £200,000 if broken down into street deals.

Arnold told police he was being paid £300 to bring the package north from his home city.

He admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug on 21 August last year.

Arnold had previously been granted bail to allow him to have a knee operation.

Judge Lord Brailsford said he now had no choice but to jail him.

He said: "I am prepared to accept that this offence is out of character.

"I have no alternative but to impose a custodial sentence."

The judge said he would have jailed him for four years, but the sentence would be reduced following his guilty plea.

Defence counsel Frances Connor said Arnold ran an amateur football team and through that contributed to youth training in his local area.

She said: "It is clear he has disappointed many people by his appearance here today."

Ms Connor said that for several months Arnold had been transporting a man on local journeys who came to be a valued customer.

He was asked by the man to run him to Glasgow where he had "some business" and was offered cash payment for the trip.

However, when Arnold went to pick up the passenger he was told he could not go and would like him to take a package to Glasgow.

The defence counsel said: "He knew something was wrong.

"He had a strong suspicion about what he was being asked to do."