A BASILDON bus operator, who once made national newspaper headlines after illegal immigrants hid in his coach, has been jailed for six years today after admitting a series of sex offences against a child 30 years ago.

Laurence Bourne, 68, carried out the abuse in Basildon between 1989 and 1992.

Officers from Essex Police's Quest team, which investigates non-recent allegations of child sexual abuse, started an investigation after the offences were reported in April 2019.

They established that Bourne, of Brackendale Court, had abused the child on numerous occasions, and he was charged with seven counts of indecent assault.

Despite denying the offences, he was convicted on Thursday, 14 January following a trial at Basildon Crown Court.

At the same court today (Fridfay, 29 January), he was jailed for six years with a further year on licence. He has also been put on the sex offenders' register for life.

Following Bourne's conviction, the victim, who is remaining anonymous, made an appeal for other victims of sex abuse to step forward and added: "I want to thank the investigating officers for the support I've received throughout the process. I would encourage any other victims to come forward as there is the support and protection for you which I hadn't realised there would be."

In 2015 Bourne, co-owner of L&R Transport in Wickford, faced a £2,000 fine after finding two migrants hiding in his coach at Calais.

The migrants had used a crowbar to enter the coach's luggage compartment before Bourne found them near the ferry terminal in Calais.

He alerted the authorities and believed it was the end of the incident until he received a fine from the Home Office this summer. Bourne wrote to the Home Office to appeal the £2,000 fine but it was upheld by the government department.

Read the story and see a video of him here.