A MAN who abducted two young girls and indecently assaulted them has been jailed for three and a half years.

Mark Hayhurst used members of his own family in a bid to give himself an alibi for the crimes, which occurred within days of each other in the Bank Top area Blackburn.

However, a jury found him guilty on two charges of child abduction and another two of indecent assault after hearing evidence at a Preston Crown Court trial.

He carried out his attacks while travelling over from Manchester, where he worked as an environment manager, to visit his estranged wife and family.

A judge passing sentence on the 33-year-old of Mansfield Street, Audenshaw, told him: "It is plain to me that young girls need to be protected from you." The trial had heard how the girls -- aged seven and eight -- were abducted in August of last year. They were then taken, in unconnected incidents, to a derelict house after being asked to help look for his lost dog.

Following the arrest of the defendant, a pair of girl's knickers were found in his briefcase.

Also, a pair of his trainers gave a likely match to a footprint at the scene.

Hayhurst alleged that both had been planted by police.

He said that at the time of the first offence he was visiting a chemist and at the time of the second, having a haircut.

Michael Blakey, defending, told the court Hayhurst, a former soldier who left the forces and became a security guard at Blackburn College, understood that an immediate prison sentence was inevitable.

"The defendant maintains his innocence," he told the court.

"There is no suggestion of any violence or any threat of violence towards either of the girls. There was no attempt to detain them against their will. The verdict, which he has to accept, has been devastating for him and devastating for all those around him.

"Normally he is a hardworking individual, who has spent some time in the forces.

"It is very difficult to see why the defendant, on the basis of the verdict, did what he did. Fortunately no long term harm was done to these girls." The court was also told that there were going to be divorce proceedings.

In addition to the three and a half year jail term, Judge Andrew Blake placed Hayhurst on seven years extended licence and ordered that his name be on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.

He said "What inevitably concerns the public in cases such as these is the random nature of the offences.

"You took the opportunity to randomly pick up two girls, something like a week apart. You took them into the back yard of a derelict house and there you indecently assaulted them.

"It is plain to me that young girls need to be protected from you."

After the case, the officer in charge of the case, Det Sgt Paul Murphy said "There was serious public concern when these offences took place due to the serious nature of the attacks and their random nature.

"I am personally relieved that Mr Hayhurst has been sentenced to a substantial prison term. He will be on the Sex Offenders Register for the next ten years, where he can be monitored by the police and the other related agencies.

"The police would like to thank the residents in the neighbourhood for their assistance during the course of the investigation."