Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd is expected to be brought before the Old Bailey on Thursday after ten months on the run.

The 31-year-old skipped bail last summer and was found guilty of the manslaughter of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown, from Clacton, in his absence.

He is expected to be escorted by Metropolitan Police officers on a flight back from Georgia to the UK tomorrow.

Shepherd will then be brought before an Old Bailey judge before he starts his six-year prison sentence.

The web designer last appeared at the court in November 2017 when he denied Ms Brown’s manslaughter.

It emerged at the start of his trial last June he would not attend court, but was in regular contact with his defence team who carried on without him.

The jury was not told he had failed to attend in breach of his bail, rather he was simply not in the dock, to avoid them being unfairly influenced by his absence.

The court had heard Shepherd and Ms Brown had been on a champagne-fuelled first date when they went for a late-night speedboat ride down the Thames in December 2015.

The 14ft Fletcher Arrowflyte, which had a series of defects, was speeding when it was thought to have struck a submerged log near Wandsworth Bridge and overturned, throwing Ms Brown to her death in the water.

Shepherd, who had been plucked from the chilly water, was found guilty in his absence and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment by Judge Richard Marks.

In December, he was granted permission to appeal against the conviction and handed himself in to authorities in Tbilisi the following month.

His surrender came after repeated appeals by Ms Brown’s family for him to face justice for her death.

After his extradition was granted by a court last month, her family said he had a weak case and “no choice” but to return.

Her father Graham Brown said: “We are going to get justice for Charlotte.

“We’re hoping he won’t follow through with his appeal, which causes the family more anguish but I guess that could be a forlorn hope.”

Speaking from Tbilisi, Shepherd apologised to Ms Brown’s family but insisted Ms Brown’s actions caused the fatal accident.

Shepherd also faces a grievous bodily harm charge over an alleged assault in Devon. A warrant for his arrest was issued by magistrates after he failed to attend the court.

No date has yet been set for the appeal hearing.

The Crown Prosecution Service and Metropolitan Police have declined to comment on the case ahead of Shepherd’s arrival in the UK.