A labourer has been jailed for seven years for historic sex abuse.

Bryan May, 56, was found guilty at Ipswich Crown Court of four counts of indecent assault and two counts of gross indecency.

He was found not guilty of one account of gross indecency with a child under 14.

The incidents happened when the victims were eight in 1989 in Halstead.

The father of one of the two victims, none of whom can be named for legal reasons, said he was pleased justice had been served.

He added: "It's all over and done with now.

"He got more for the girl as he groomed her from a young age when she was eight years old.

"It is a horrible thing to have happened to them.

"Trust wise there have definitely been an impact.

"You always want to protect your children from this, but I didn't notice the signs even though I should have known what to look out for."

May, who now lives in Wicklow Street, Islington, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on April 14.

He will serve at least three and half years of his sentence "I am pleased by the length of this sentence," he said.

"It will keep him off the streets and keep other people safe while he is away."

He added that he would encourage anyone to come forwards who had been the victim of a historic sex attack.

"The hardest part is getting yourself believed, but after Jimmy Saville you are more likely to be believed," he said.

"We have had some great judges and the female police officer who was supporting us was brilliant."

He said that although the process can be quite "scary" it was important that people did report sex offenders in order to protect others and keep them off the streets.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Jo Robinson, of the child abuse investigation team based in Colchester, said: “I am very pleased with the conviction of Bryan May and the sentence passed by the court.

“This was a protracted investigation and I hope the sentence will help give the victims some closure.

“Essex Police takes all reports of sexual offences involving children very seriously, whether the offences happened recently or in the past, and we will investigate every report."

This is the second Halstead man to be jailed for historic sex abuse.

Ernest Fisher, 75, of Kings Road, was jailed for 11 years following a total of twelve counts in the 1960s and 1970s after appearing at Chelmsford Crown Court in March.