A 73-year-old Wiltshire man has been jailed for a total of 42 months after admitting to sexually assaulting an elderly woman at a care home in East Wiltshire and breaking a suspended sentence from 2015.

David Harrod admitted one count of sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice, after climbing into bed with a fellow resident at an Aster Group-owned sheltered housing complex in Wiltshire in April.

Harrod, 72, a fellow resident at the complex, turned off the bedroom alarm system and was carrying out a sex act on his victim when her daughter walked in on him.

Today Harrod was sentenced to a total of 42 months after receiving 32 months at Swindon Crown Court for admitting the offence last month and 10 months for breaking a suspended sentence to be served consecutively.

Harrod was given 10 months for breaking the suspended sentence order from a previous conviction in which he molested a 12 year old girl in her home in February 2015.

He's also been given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, put on the sex offenders register indefinitely, and told to pay a £170 victim surcharge.

Following the sentencing PC Jayne Wilby, who lead the investigation, said: "Firstly, I want to commend the bravery of the elderly victim and her family in coming forward and speaking to us.

“This has clearly been a very disturbing and upsetting time for her and her family.

"By reporting this, it allowed us to thoroughly investigate this incident, with the help of our partner agencies, to successfully prosecute this man.

"I hope this sentence goes some way to getting justice for the victim as well as helping her and her family achieve some closure so they can move on with their lives.

“I would like to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who may have been a victim of sex abuse, regardless of how much time has passed, to report it to police.

"We will investigate, provide you with the full support you need, and do all that we can to bring to justice offenders like Harrod.”

Victims can contact Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Victims can also seek support and counselling from the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) based at the New Swindon Sanctuary and can be contacted on the 24-hour helpline 0808 168 0024.