A FARMER who befriended a woman before sexually assaulting her has been jailed for two-and-a-half years and placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Glen Cook, of Norton Fine Farm, Etherley Bank, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, made friends with his victim before attacking her.

Teesside Crown Court found Cook guilty of four indecent assaults following a trial.

Rod Hunt, prosecuting, said: "At first it seemed the defendant befriended the complainant and that was how he became to intimidate her.

"A frequent occurrence in this case was he told her that she had a nice body."

Cook, 50, denied all the claims when he was arrested by the police, said Mr Hunt.

The court heard Cook's partner, who he lives with, was standing by him despite the guilty verdict and his son had also accompanied him to court.

Paul Cleasby, in mitigation, said: "It was an opportunistic offence, it was not pre-meditated.

"His family are anxious for a time when he can be released back to them. They are having to run a very difficult farming operation without him.

"He is a man who is used to the outdoor life, in the fields, and being confined to a prison is a particularly harsh sentence for him."

Mr Cleasby added: "A short, sharp, shock might just be enough for him not to re-offend in the future."

Judge Tony Briggs, jailing Cook for 30 months, said: "She was vulnerable and you took advantage.

" It is a very sad picture."