A jury has convicted a 54-year-old man of repeatedly abusing a young girl.

Edric Hogarth, known as Eddie, indecently touched the youngster and got her to carry out sex acts on him over a number of years.

Although he denied all of the allegations, claiming the child was lying, a jury at Swindon Crown Court rejected his pleas and convicted him.

At the end of a week long trial the panel of seven men and five women found him guilty by a majority of ten to two on Friday.

Judge Tim Mousley QC adjourned the case to Friday, April 4, and released Hogarth on bail until then.

Hogarth, of Eastleigh Road, Devizes, was convicted of two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual assault of a child.

The father-of-five carried out the abuse on the girl when he was living in the village of Redstocks, near Seend.

The jury were told the first charge related to an incident in September 2012 which the child said prompted her to tell her mother what had been going on.

Hannah Squire, prosecuting, said the other charges were 'multi-incident counts' which meant a course of conduct where he was alleged to have done the same thing more than once.

They are said to have taken place between the start of 2009 and the date of the last alleged offence.

Miss Squire told the jury that the child could not be sure about how long the abuse had been going on.

Hogarth was working 6pm to 6am night shifts as a baker at the time he was molesting the child.