A MAN has been jailed for more than two years for molesting a young girl.

Preston Crown Court heard that Richard Greive absconded while the jury was considering verdicts at the end of his trial.

He gave himself up three or four days later.

The 31-year-old, of Midsummer Street, Blackburn, had been found guilty earlier of four counts of indecent assault plus one of indecency towards a child.

The case involved him indecently touching a girl who was plied with cigarettes and alcohol, between July 2002 and January this year.

Greive had previous convictions, though nothing of a similar nature.

Mr Tim Ashmole, defending, said "He continues to deny the charges.

"He feels aggrieved by the decisions of the jury and is considering an appeal on a variety of bases - mostly relating to the way his trial was conducted."

Greive was given concurrent two-year sentences for the sex offences, with two years extended licence.

He was given another three months consecutive for a bail offence he had admitted.

He will be on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.