A MELKSHAM child abuser has been jailed for nine months for a string of indecent assaults committed almost a decade ago.

Dennis Donnithorne broke down and sobbed in the dock at Swindon Crown Court when he was told he was going to prison for the systematic attacks on three girls in the late 1980s and early '90s.

The 48-year-old paedophile supplied drink and drugs to his victims, who were aged from 12 to 15 at the time.

Despite denying the charges a jury had earlier found the lorry driver guilty of 11 counts of indecent assault, after deliberating for eight hours at the end of a four-day trial. He was cleared on a 12th charge.

Sue Evans, defending, said that while most of the offences were 'distressing and upsetting' they were not the worst of their kind.

She said the offences carry a 'terrible stigma within the community', adding: "That is a cause of devastation to him. He is unlikely to offend again."

Miss Evans handed in a number of references from his work and members of his family also wrote to the judge saying how surprised they were by the matters.

Miss Evans said the case had had a devastating effect on Donnithorne's family, and pointed out that as a short-term prisoner he would not get on a sex offender course, which was possible if he remained in the community.

Jailing him, Judge John McNaught said: "I have to be loyal to the verdict that the jury returned and I have to treat you how similar cases are treated. I am afraid I have come to the conclusion that I have to pass a prison sentence."

As well as the nine-month prison term, of which he will serve half, Donnithorne will also have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

After his conviction in May, Det Sgt Dave Martin, who led the investigation into Donnithorne's past, said all three victims had suffered cruelly at the hands of a "bully-boy" paedophile.

He said: "Donnithorne has blighted the lives of three young girls. They have my utmost respect for having the courage to stand up to him having suffered his abuse and intimidation for years.

"He is a pervert and a bully, but I hope they can now somehow put this case and the abuse they suffered to the back of their minds and live their lives out of his poisonous shadow."

Donnithorne, who was allowed to return to Melksham on bail, became the target of a paedophile hate campaign. Windows at a pub in Semington were smashed in December after Donnithorne used the premises as a bail address.