A 42-year-old man has been jailed for a year for what a judge described as a "nasty and horrible attack" on a girl of 14.

Anthony Harper, of Ingles Drive, St John's, Worcester, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Harper has also been forbidden indefinitely from working with children.

Judge David McEvoy QC said that Harper, who was convicted of sexual activity with a child, had compounded the offence by forcing the girl to undergo a trial.

Prosecutor Nicolas Cartwright told Worcester Crown Court that Harper had no previous convictions for sexual matters. His last offence was drink-driving nine years ago.

Martin Steen, defending, submitted five references and said Harper was a hard working man and in a stable relationship with his partner.

The teenager had been sleeping on the floor of the flat where he was staying the night and he had climbed on top of her and given her a love bite on the neck. But he had not fondled her breasts and she had managed to escape.

"It was not a sustained and violent attack. It was carried out by a man under emotional stress from looking after his mum who has since died," said Mr Steen.

The judge agreed that the offence could be classified as "mild", but Harper had inflicted himself upon the girl with the aim of having sex with the teenage girl and had been convicted in the face of compelling evidence against him.

The judge, who said he did not regard Harper as a danger to young girls, received a torrent of abuse from a woman in the public gallery after he had announced sentence.