A retired teacher has been jailed for sexually assaulting boys at the prestigious Salisbury Cathedral School and another boarding school.

Piers Le Cheminant was convicted of 10 indecent assaults against nine boys over a 21-year period.

The 77-year-old targeted boys at Oakwood boarding school in Chichester, West Sussex, until one of the pupils made a complaint against him, Winchester Crown Court was told.

He was then able to take up a position at the Salisbury school, where his offending continued.

Le Cheminant, of Newton Abbot, Devon, would call boys to the front of the class and grope their buttocks while their classmates watched, the court was told.

He would also watch the boys shower after they had played sport and took some of his victims somewhere private, where he would grope them and smack their buttocks.

The complaints came to the attention of the police in 2018 and former pupils were sent standard letters, with a number of responses received, naming Le Cheminant as being responsible for sexual abuse.

He denied all the allegations when interviewed by the police, calling them “nonsense”.

Judge Timothy Mousley KC said the defendant had shown a “lack of remorse” for his crimes, which happened between 1965 and 1986.

He said: “One of the children was only eight years old when you started to abuse him. Each of these boys was particularly vulnerable and you took advantage of that.

“The harm was severe in some cases and you breached the trust which others expected of you. You have left them with appalling memories of their time at school.”

As well as being jailed for nine years, Le Cheminant was given a lifelong sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register.

In a statement to the Journal, the Salisbury Cathedral School said: "Following the sentencing today of Piers le Cheminant on charges of historical indecent and sexual assault, we offer an unreserved apology to survivors and all those affected by this news.

"We commend the bravery of those who brought these allegations forward, acknowledging how difficult and distressing this would have been. These offences were committed some 35 years ago but abuse then, as now, is a terrible crime which has lifelong effects."