THE husband of a boarding school headmistress has been sentenced after harassing a married woman by attempting to kiss her and touching her leg.

Stephen Woodhouse, who left his victim in shock after running his hand down her back, was ordered to complete 65 hours of unpaid community work by a judge at Worcester Crown Court.

Woodhouse, who was told he may have to perform his community service in a charity shop, covered his head with a coat as he left court.

The 65-year-old - whose wife Patricia is the head of Malvern St James Girls' School in Worcestershire - also admitted grabbing his victim's arms during the harassment in 2014.

The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was touched by Woodhouse during four incidents which took place at a property in the Malvern area and another location on a single day.

A previous hearing was told Woodhouse was living at an address in Malvern at the time of the harassment and had later contacted the victim to apologise, saying he had had too much to drink and was sorry if he had caused offence.

Sentencing Woodhouse for a single count of harassment, Judge Nicolas Cartwright said the defendant could be allocated work in a charity shop because of a long-standing back complaint.

Ordering Woodhouse to pay £1,400 in prosecution costs, the judge told him: "The maximum sentence that the law permits for this offence is six months' imprisonment.

"The starting point for one offence comprising a small number of incidents is a medium-level community order.

"A restraining order is not necessary or appropriate in this case. I am quite satisfied that that there is no identifiable risk that you will repeat this behaviour on a future occasion."

Judge Cartwright entered not guilty verdicts on a count of sexual assault and four other charges which Woodhouse had previously denied.

In a statement issued in July last year, Malvern St James, which charges fees of up to GBP12,000 per term, wrote to parents to reassure them that no pupil "has been or is at any risk".

Mrs Woodhouse is due to leave the school this summer and take up a post overseas.