A pensioner has received a suspended sentence and seven years on the sex offenders register after being found guilty of sexual assault on a bus in Harrow.

Hassan Benhissen 74, of Wesley Close, Harrow, was handed a six-month sentence, suspended for two years, on Wednesday (March 11) at Harrow Crown Court.

Benhissen was found guilty, following a two-day trial in February, of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old while travelling on a bus at around 6pm on April 5 last year.

Acting detective superintendent John Oldham, from the Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: "We take all reports of sexual offences seriously and are committed to bringing offenders to justice.

"If someone has made you feel uncomfortable on your bus journey, however minor it may seem to you, reporting it to police can help us target the perpetrator and prevent it happening to another passenger."

The Roads and Transport Policing Command led the investigation and obtained CCTV from the bus, which led to Behissen being identified.

He was arrested on April 16 and later charged and bailed to appear at Harrow Magistrates' Court on August 6.

The action was part of Project Guardian - a multi-agency initiative involving British Transport Police, the Metropolitan Police, City of London Police and Transport for London (TfL).

Siwan Hayward, TfL’s deputy director of enforcement and on-street operations, said: “We care about all our passengers and every journey they make.

"Crime on our bus network has gone down however we will not tolerate unwanted sexual behaviour of any type.

"We will continue to work closely with our policing partners to rid our network of this type of behaviour, ensuring all reports of this nature are taken very seriously and our network remains a safe environment for all.”