A man who raped and abused vulnerable children for 20 years put vodka into a baby's bottle before sexually assaulting her, a court has heard.

Ian Whyte, 62, carried out a campaign of abuse against youngsters in Edinburgh between December 1978 and May 1998.

The attack on the baby girl took place between September 1982 and September 1983 - when Whyte was about 18 years old and the baby was under a year old.

He was found guilty on nine charges of sexual assault and rape following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Judge Thomas Welsh KC told him it was "a shocking catalogue of grave and serious crimes against children".

He added: "A report will assess the risk you presently pose to children and young people."

The court heard that Whyte's offending began in December 1978, when he was about 14 years old, when he sexually assaulted a four year old boy.

He continued to abuse the boy for four years.

Whyte then targeted the baby girl, raped a nine-year-old girl and raped a 12-year-old girl in the period between September 1982 and September 1983.

In a later incident Whyte provided a 13-year-old girl with solvents and attempted to rape her.

And on various occasions between November1995 and May 1998 he physically and sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl.

Jurors were told that Whyte made some of his victims play a game called "mummies and daddies" before abusing them.

Whyte had denied all the charges and claimed his victims were lying about him.

After the guilty verdict the court heard that Whyte had previously served four years in the late 1990s for other sexual assaults.

He will be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh next month.