27330-02A PENSIONER talked about his sex life and offered cannabis when he gave young girls a lift home, a court heard.

He kissed one youngster on the lips after one trip, Swindon Crown Court heard yesterday

Grahame Adams admitted two charges of indecent assault and another of possessing cannabis.

But four counts of abducting girls under 16 and one of attempted abduction were ordered by Judge John McNaught to lie on file.

A trial lasting up to five days had been due to start yesterday, but was abandoned after 65-year-old Adams, of Mulberry Grove, Rodbourne Cheney, changed his pleas on three out of the eight counts at the last minute.

Prosecutor James Patrick said the Crown maintained its case that the defendant had been responsible for the abduction of five girls in Swindon.

He had become acquainted with the girls, who cannot be named because of their age, after meeting them through a parent of one of them.

He would offer them lifts and during the journeys he would talk about his sex life and theirs, as well as discussing his use of cannabis and inviting them to use it as well.

The two girls subjected to indecent assaults were sisters, said Mr Patrick.

One had been kissed on the lips while the other had been touched on the leg.

He said there was no suggestion that Adams was a stranger picking them up and deliberately abducting them.

The facts of the indecent assault allegations were agreed and the guilty pleas were accepted.

But his not guilty pleas to the other matters were not acceptable to the court and Mr Patrick requested that they lie on file.

Defence counsel Paul Higham said his client had entered his new pleas after reflection and with hindsight, realising that what he had done would be viewed by a jury as unacceptable.

He said, on the advice from his legal team, the defendant had decided the 11th-hour plea change.

"The result of that is that we do not have a trial," he added.

Mr Higham asked the judge to allow Adams, who has no previous convictions, bail at home rather than a bail hostel.

"He has been separated from his family for nine months," he said.

He added Adams faced more danger from what might be reported about the hearing rather than posing a danger to others.

Judge John McNaught granted bail on the condition that Adams had no contact with any of the witnesses and had no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16.

Adjourning the hearing for four weeks, he told Adams not to go away under the impression he was not going to jail.

"A prison sentence may be appropriate. I have an absolutely open mind about it," he said.

Tina Clarke