An 84-year-old man has been jailed for eight years after he sexually assaulted two underage girls for a "prolonged period of time".

Maurice Henry Willis, 84, of Shillitoe Avenue, Potters Bar, was found guilty after a ten-day trial ay Southwark Crown Court.

The court heard how Willis abused the two victims from the mid-1960s, over a prolonged period of time.

The victims were aged between five and 15-years-old at the time of the assaults.

The Metropolitan Police, which investigated the case, says the abuse took place in west London and Hertfordshire.

Detectives in the Met’s child abuse and sexual offences (CASO) unit began an investigation in March 2017 after one of the victims, a woman in her 50s, reported the incidents to police which had taken place in her childhood.

Subsequent police enquiries revealed a further victim, now in her 30s, who was approached and willing to assist police in this investigation.

Willis was interviewed in September 2017, and he denied the allegations of sexual abuse.

On July 5 2019, he was charged with eight counts of indecent assault relating to girls under 16.

On August 30, Willis pleaded not guilty to all the offences at Southwark Crown Court, but he was subsequently found guilty.

Willis was found guilty of six counts of indecent assault of a child aged under 14, and two counts of indecent assault of a teenager under 16.

He was jailed for eight years.

Willis has been put on the sex offender register for life and has been issued with a sexual harm prevention order preventing him from having any unsupervised contact with people under 18.

Detective Constable Vicky Wiltshire said: "I would like to thank all of the families involved in this investigation - without their courage, bravery and resilience this outcome would not have been possible.

"Willis has caused immense distress and trauma for the victims and their families and I hope his sentence will go towards providing some closure for them.

"Willis may have abused more victims, and I would urge any other potential victims to come forward and contact police as soon as possible."

Anyone with information of a potential victim is asked to contact DC Vicky Wiltshire or DC Jo Williams on 101. Alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800555111.