An 87-year-old church stalwart will spend Christmas behind bars after being locked up for sex offences dating back to the mid-1970s.

Former chartered surveyor Peter Scott pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court to three counts of indecent assault on a girl who was then a teenager.

Scott, of Stone Lane, Colwall, near Malvern, changed his plea to guilty to the three charges on the day of a trial, Simon Burns, prosecuting, told a sentencing hearing.

He will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years, until the age of 97.

Mr Burns said the victim, now in her 50s and cannot be named for legal reasons, was relieved to know he had accepted responsibility without a trial.

"She has lived with this for a considerable number of years," he said.

The court heard that a probation report indicated Scott, a widower, would not be prepared to work with any rehabilitation orders because he had not accepted any wrongdoing despite his guilty plea.

Lisa Hancox, defending, said it would be "a real shame" if a man of his age and and previous good character was sent to prison because there was no other option.

"A prison sentence will not change his attitude," she said.

"There could be work done with him to realise the harm he has caused."

She said Scott was a keen member of a church community and members of his church had written references and accompanied him to court.

He had been helping out at the church playgroup but had now stopped this activity and some neighbours had ceased contact.

"It is a huge punishment for him," she said.

Scott, she said, was hard of hearing and has heart trouble and the prospect of going to prison was "terrifying" for him.

Judge Nicholas Cartwright said there was no possibility of Scott complying with an order attached to a community sentence. The offending would have to be marked by an immediate spell in jail, he said.

Scott was given a total sentence of eight months. He will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order banning unsupervised contact or communication with girls under 16 and restricting his use of computers for ten years.