A paedophile has been jailed for nine years for a series of sexual assaults on young girls.

James Barnard, 65, of Hillsboro Road, Bognor, was found guilty last month of five assaults on two young girls aged four and eight between 2008 and 2013.

After his sentencing at Lewes Crown Court on Friday, Barnard was ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely on his release from prison and was served with a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) severely restricting his access to children.

Last month he was found not guilty of four other offences involving two other girls.

Detective Constable Steve Edwards of the West Sussex child protection ream said: "Barnard got to know the girls over a period of time and gradually gained their confidence, a classic example of 'grooming'. He then chose opportunities to subject them to sexual assaults, which in their innocence and vulnerability they did not mention to anyone at the time.

"Only when one of them spoke to her parents last year did his behaviour come to light."