A MAN has been jailed for ten years following a string of historic sexual assaults on children.

John North sexually assaulted a number of girls between 2002 and 2017.

The 68-year-old was found guilty of 11 counts of sexual assault on a child, two counts of indecent assault on a child, one count of assault by penetration and one of causing a child to watch a sexual act following a trial at Durham Crown Court.

In a statement read out during the hearing, one victim said: "After being abused by John I felt alone, I didn't want anyone to know what had happened to me. I was ashamed and embarrassed. No matter the punishment he gets I will always be scarred by what he did."

North, of the Northallerton area, was jailed for ten years and made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.