AN ISLE of Wight man who grabbed at a woman’s genitals after disembarking a bus in Sandown has been spared jail.

Anthony Ayres, of Atherley Road, Shanklin, appeared before a judge at the Isle of Wight Crown Court on Thursday, November 14.

The 56-year-old admitted sexual assault on a female, in Sandown, on July 10.

Prosecutor, Tim Devlin, said Ayres had initially denied the charge, but went on to change his plea ahead of his trial.

The court heard the incident was captured on CCTV and it was a “simple” sexual assault, wherein Ayres tried to grab his victim’s genitalia.

Mr Devlin said Ayres was on a Southern Vectis bus, and when he got off near Sandown Library, he confronted a nearby woman and queried her gender.

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Mr Devlin said, when the woman told Ayres she was a female, he had his doubts and reached out to touch her genitals, at which point the victim smacked his hand away.

In a statement, read out in court, the victim described how the incident made her feel “sick to her stomach”, asking the question: “Who thinks it’s OK to behave this way?”

Jim Osborne, defending, said Ayres had initially elected Crown Court trial but later pleaded guilty.

He said he had turned his life around since the incident and had stopped drinking and taking drugs.

Ayers was made subject of a 12-month community order, to include 20 rehabilitation days and a six-month alcohol treatment requirement.

He was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years and ordered to pay costs of £520.