A fairground security guard has been jailed for eight months after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two teenage girls.

Paul Long, 61, of Huddleston Close, Woodchurch, Birkenhead, was working at a temporary funfair in Seacombe when he committed the "sinister" attacks on March 28, 2019.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Long first slapped the bottom of a 15-year-old girl while giving her first aid, then laughed in her face and followed her.

He then trapped a 14-year-old girl on a Waltzer ride and grabbed her bottom, before confronting her father when he arrived.

Judge Brian Cummings, QC, said Long had "taken advantage" of his position as a security guard to commit the crimes.

"You are a large and physically imposing man," the judge told Long.

The first girl, who had cut her foot on one of the rides, had asked Long for a plaster. When the cut continued to bleed, she went back for a second plaster and Long offered to help apply it.

"You then slapped her on the bottom and started laughing," the judge said. "It was rather sinister."

The second girl was on the Waltzers with her cousin when Long sat between them. She felt uncomfortable and wanted to get off, but he wouldn't let her and the ride started.

The judge said the girl was "struggling to breathe and nearly started crying" but Long asked her age and when she said 14, "you expressed surprise and said you would kiss her if she were older."

He then grabbed her bottom, before holding a safety bar down to prevent her from getting off the ride. The girl managed to squeeze out and ran off with her cousin.

The girl's father arrived at the fair and confronted Long. "You approached in an aggressive manner. You had the effrontery to get in his face so to speak and push him back," the judge said.

"It highlights, I'm afraid, your complete absence of remorse," the judge added.

Long denied any wrongdoing in his police interviews and at trial, claiming the girls were lying.

The girls described the impact of the attacks in video interviews. The first girl said she had "pushed it to the back of her mind" but now feels wary when walking alone.

The second girl said the attack made her feel "crap" and that she doesn't like going out anymore.

Long has a history of offending, with 10 previous convictions for 13 offences, mainly for dishonesty.

In 2017, he was convicted of causing death by careless driving after he tried to help a drunk man who was later killed by another driver.

Long's lawyer said he was considered a "low risk of further offences" and argued that it would be of benefit to society if he was rehabilitated rather than jailed.

Judge Cummings said there was a "breach of trust" as Long's job was to ensure the safety of visitors to the fair.

"He was the very person that the victims in this case should have been able to turn to if sexually assaulted in the fairground, not the person committing these assaults," the judge said.

Long was jailed for eight months and must sign the Sex Offenders Register and comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.