A former school minibus driver was jailed yesterday for sexually abusing five young girls over 25 years.

Malcolm Morton, 56, of Edgecombe Road, Barton, Oxford, committed a string of sexual assaults on girls aged between six and 16 years, some of them in his minibus.

He was convicted of nine counts of indecency with a child and 11 of indecent assault. The incidents happened over a period of 25 years from the mid-seventies until 2001.

During the trial at Oxford Crown Court, the jury heard how Morton worked as a driver for a private hire taxi company in the city and was awarded a "school badge" to allow him to ferry children to and from school.

Defending, David Bright admitted the former minibus driver had been in breach of trust but said it could have been worse.

"No weapon was used and no physical violence was used which is so often the case in offences like this," he said.

He said Morton was depressed, and worried about how his family would cope without him and whether his wife would stick by him.

Morton's 12-year-old son had received insults at school, Mr Bright added.

Sentencing at Reading Crown Court, Judge Bruce McIntyre described Morton as "a danger to girls within the age range of six to 16".

The offences began after the death of Morton's first wife, and his family had urged him to seek psychological treatment.

The judge said: "After being confronted, you promised to seek treatment through your doctor, and if only you had done, things would have been different."

He sentenced Morton to eight years for each charge of indecency with a child. All terms are to run concurrently with a licence to extend to 10 years. He also jailed Morton for a total of two years for the sexual assault charges, to run concurrently.