A PERVERT who lifted a woman's skirt and grabbed her bottom while being a sex pest to her at two Isle of Wight pubs, has been sentenced by magistrates.

Joshua Lee Edwards, 31, of The Broadway, Totland, admitted a sexual assault on a female on March 25, when he appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court last month.

He was sentenced at the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court yesterday (Friday).

Edwards complimented a female member of the bar staff at an Island pub, then events took a sinister turn when he brazenly made a lewd suggestion to her, with a colleague beside her.

The woman avoided serving him the rest of her shift, then went to another pub to meet a friend.

But Edwards turned up at the other pub and told her he wanted to have sex with her, making more lewd comments and getting physically close to her.

Later, Edwards grabbed her bottom for several seconds, but she managed to flee to the bathroom, where she broke down in tears.

The victim, in a statement, said she felt upset and frightened. She had declined his advances several times and gave no reason for him to think she was interested.

Jim Osborne, for Edwards, said he had no previous convictions and had never behaved in that way before.

Edwards was given a 24-month community order to include 15 rehabilitation days and 120 hours of unpaid work.

He will be on the Sex Offenders' Register for five years.

There were costs of £85 and a £95 surcharge.