A riding school boss who abused a string of young girls at his livery yard has been jailed for six years.

Peter Jones, of Mountain Bower, North Wraxall, abused his position of trust to carry out sex attacks on the children as young as six years old who came to ride horses at his business.

Jailing him on Friday, a judge at Swindon Crown Court branded the 40-year-old ‘predatory’ and ‘a danger to young girls’.

Rosie Collins, prosecuting, told the court that Jones owned and managed a riding stable at his home in North Wraxall, near Chippenham.

Although he had no relevant qualifications he allowed children to be taught how to ride and to keep their horses in the yard.

The pervert used his position to abuse six girls, all under thirteen years old, who either had lessons or stabled their animals at his home.

And the court heard that Jones actively discouraged boys from using the stables and was also warned by a female friend that he was acting inappropriately with the girls.

But he ignored her and carried on sexually abusing children.

Miss Collins said some of the youngsters had favourite horses and he would indecently touch the girls over their clothing as he helped them into the saddle.

He also pressed himself up behind a child as she was hosing down the yard and another as she was grooming her horse.

The court was told that when he first appeared in court two other children, now teenagers, read about it in the local paper and told the police how they too had been abused by him years earlier.

He had repeatedly touched them both over and under their clothing including rubbing his genitals against one of the children’s when she was no older than ten years old.

Jones initially denied any wrongdoing and was due to stand trial on the allegations but admitted the charges relating to the first four girls last summer before a jury could be sworn in.

However soon after he tried to change his pleas back to not guilty causing the victims and their families great distress fearing they would have to relive the ordeal in court.

A trial on the two other girls who came forward after was started in February but it stopped when prosecutors agreed to drop the one more serious charge of rape and replace it with indecent assault.

Miss Collins said the abuse and protracted court process had left the victims and their families distraught and emotionally scarred.

Jones admitted fifteen counts of indecent assault on a child under 13 and four of sexual activity with a child.

Robin Shellard, defending, said however hollow it may sound his client wished to apologise to the girls for what he had put them through.

He said “Mr Jones accepts he is going to prison and going to prison for a number of years.

“Today will affect him for the rest of his life. I hope and he hopes through me that today will also mean that these girls can start afresh, put these things behind them and move on knowing that justice was done today and that other girls may be protected in the future.”

Jailing him Judge Mark Horton said “You deliberately created an environment in which you had access to young girls,” he said.

“You were undoubtedly predatory, grooming these young girls to accept increasing amounts of sexual abuse by you.

“You are a danger to young girls and will remain so for the future. You are clearly attracted to young girls and have been predatory in ensuring you had access to them.”

As well as jailing him for six years he imposed a four year extended licence, banned him from working with children, imposed a sexual offences prevention order restricting his contact with children and told him to register as a sex offender for life.