A MAN found guilty of killing his date in a speedboat incident is set to have a challenge against his conviction heard at the Court of Appeal.

Jack Shepherd, from Abergavenny, was jailed for six years over the death of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown, who was thrown from his boat when it capsized on the River Thames during their first date in December 2015.

The 31-year-old web developer went on the run ahead of his Old Bailey trial and was convicted in his absence of manslaughter by gross negligence in July 2018.

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Shepherd was later extradited to the UK from Georgia after handing himself in to police in the capital Tbilisi in January, telling reporters it was a 'tragic accident.'

His appeal against conviction will be heard by Sir Brian Leveson and two other judges in London today.

Jurors at Shepherd’s trial heard that he and Ms Brown, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, had been drinking champagne and went on a late-night jaunt in his boat past the Houses of Parliament.

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Charlotte Brown (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Shepherd handed the controls to Ms Brown just before it overturned, tipping both of them into the cold water, the court was told.

He was plucked from the Thames alive, but Ms Brown was found unconscious and unresponsive.

Following his return from Georgia, Shepherd appeared at the Old Bailey in April and was sentenced to an additional six months for breaching bail.

He was jailed for a further four years at Exeter Crown Court last week after he admitted wounding with intent in relation to a drink-fuelled attack on a barman.

The court heard he struck former soldier David Beech with a vodka bottle on March 16 (2018) after being asked to leave The White Hart Hotel in Newton Abbott, Devon.

The appeal hearing is due to start at 10.30am.