A Didcot railway worker has been jailed after having sex with an 81-year-old woman who suffers severe senile dementia.

Philip Noamesi, 45, a car park attendant at Didcot Parkway station, befriended the vulnerable woman over several weeks and had sex with her, despite knowing she suffered mental illness.

A care worker caught him in her bedroom doing up his trousers on the morning of June 26 last year.

The elderly woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was standing naked near to her bed, attempting to get dressed. Noamesi told the care worker he was a friend, but refused to say anything further.

Neighbours told police they had seen Ghanaian-born Noamesi enter the woman's house, in Caversham, Reading, the previous evening.

He denied having sex with the woman when questioned by police, but forensic evidence linked him to the assault.

He was arrested in August at the railway station.

Noamesi, of Vastern Road, Reading, later admitted having sex with a person suffering from mental disorder. He was jailed for 18 months at Reading Crown Court on Friday.

After sentencing, Det Sgt Ian Winson said the woman's condition had deteriorated since the assault.

She had been hospitalised and it was unlikely she would return home again.

He said: "He took advantage of her, knowing she was not well enough to make decisions of her own. I find it sickening that a man could take advantage of an old lady and he deserves to be behind bars."