A DEVON man convicted of killing his date in a speedboat crash on the River Thames has handed himself in to police in Georgia after months on the run.

Jack Shepherd, originally from Moretonhampstead and a former South Dartmoor College student, was sentenced to six years in July for the manslaughter of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown after the speedboat they were in flipped into the icy waters of the River Thames in December 2015.

However, the 31-year-old had been in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi since March and was absent throughout his trial.

A spokesman for the Georgian Embassy in London confirmed Shepherd’s arrest. Under current diplomatic agreements between Georgia and the UK, Shepherd is eligible for extradition.

Georgian Rustavi TV has shown footage of him before he handed himself in during an exclusive interview.

Shepherd, a web designer, is also wanted by police for failing to attend Newton Abbot Magistrates’ Court seven months ago to face a charge of grievous bodily harm against David Beech, a barman at Moretonhampstead’s White Hart Hotel in March of last year.