A FAMOUS children's author was facing jail last night after he admitted sexually abusing six young girls as long as 43 years ago.

William Mayne, 76, admitted his guilt on the third day of his trial after two accusers gave evidence that he regularly had naked sex with groups of girls under 13 at his homes in North Yorkshire and London.

Mayne, who has written a trilogy of Arthurian legends and adventure books about choirboys, admitted ten charges of indecent assaults between 1960 and 1975 when they were put to him again.

Judge David Bryant remanded him on conditional bail for sentence on April 30, and told him: "I should make it clear to you that I do not see any alternative to a custodial sentence in this case."

Five of the eight women who made sex abuse allegations against Mayne were in Teesside Crown Court to hear his admissions.

The first allegations were made in 1973 and he was first arrested in 1999, but the case was not proceeded with.

He was re-arrested last May after more women complained but denied any inappropriate behaviour took place.

What prosecuting solicitor Richard Mansell called devastating evidence came from a woman, now 51, who said Mayne sexually abused her almost every time they were together, when she was aged between seven and 13, at three houses in the village of Thornton Rust, near Leyburn, North Yorkshire, and at his London flat.

"I would often anticipate when it would happen, sort of dread it. But I could never have said anything to anybody," she said.

A woman from London was first to go to the police, who then made investigations in the North Yorkshire area, uncovering more victims, said Mr Mansell.

The woman said Mayne often stripped off for naked play-fighting with groups of four or five girls under 13 in his Thornton Rust house. He sexually abused her and she saw him sexually interfering with other girls, she said.

Mayne, of Thornton Rust, Leyburn, admitted 11 charges of indecent assault on five girls under 13 and one over 16.

The judge directed the jury to find him not guilty of two charges of raping one of the girls and two charges of indecently assaulting two sisters, which he denied. The charges were left on the court file.