A BEWDLEY man who carried out a sex crime on an eight-year-old girl has been jailed for two years.

David Powell offered the child money to touch him after he undid his trousers, Worcester Crown Court heard.

The 30-year-old from Wassell Drive, Wribbenhall, pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent assault.

He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years and go on a rehabilitation programme on his release from prison.

Prosecutor Tariq Shakoor said Powell behaved indecently in front of several children at a house in Kidderminster.

There was no suggestion that he had attacked or interfered with the victim.

The offence came to light after the girl's friend reported his conduct to her mother.

Other children aged between seven and 10 told police of the way he had been behaving.

Carol Knotts, defending, said Powell was ashamed and disgusted with himself.

He had already suffered seriously from ill feeling in the Bewdley area.

His young daughter had been taken into care and there was a question mark over the future of a second child expected by his partner next month.

"His family means everything to him and it upsets him that it will no longer be a unit," she said.

"He finds himself completely alone in the world and will have an enormous task to rebuild his life."

Judge Marten Coates said his guilty pleas represented conduct on four or five occasions within a three-month period in 1999.