A HOMELESS man has been jailed for grabbing a 13-year old girl in a terrifying ordeal at a city centre Tesco.

Oxford Crown Court heard on Wednesday how the girl, who was visiting the city from her native Singapore, was too scared to go out after the attack at the Magdalen Street store.

Andrew Gardiner, 51, who has been homeless since 2008, pleaded guilty to the attack on July 22 in which he grabbed at the girls chest, rubbing his hands back and forth.

In a victim statement read out to the court the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said of the ordeal: “It really scared me.

“It felt so wrong. I knew that he should not be touching me and it made me feel scared and uncomfortable.”

She reported the incident immediately and Gardiner was arrested from a street shelter in the city a few days later before being placed into custody.

The court heard how Gardiner had a string of previous offences including seven previous sexual offences and a number of indecent exposures.

Judge Ross, presiding, called him a ‘sexual pest’ and said: “It was random and opportunistic.

“This was an unpleasant incident for a 13-year old girl; a visitor to the city enjoying her time here until the incident at the Tesco.”

Gardiner was sentenced to 12 months in prison and will be supervised for one year afterwards.