A paedophile has been jailed for five years for sexually abusing a child in the 1970s.

Philip Collins, 69, was found guilty of sexually abusing a boy at Malvern House children's home in Kenley on several occasions between 1968 and 1976. 

Collins, of Worcester Road, Sutton, touched the victim's penis while he was supervising him as he took a bath and while spanking the child in a separate incident.

The historic sex abuse is understood to have begun when the victim, who is now in his fifties, was seven years old and moved into the home after he was abandoned by his parents.

The victim told Croydon Crown Court: "We all liked him. He was a nice guy and fun to be around.

"He was boisterous and played rough and tumble games with the younger males."

Prosecutor Tim Forster told the jury: "He describes a classic case of being groomed. He expected love and care from them [care home staff] but he says that Phil Collins corrupted that care."

During the trial Collins, who met his wife Doreen while he worked at the home, denied abusing the boy and told the court that he had never spent time alone with him.

He said: "It would have been more than a little unusual."

Asked by his lawyer, Jeremy Lynn, if he had touched the boy's genitals while bathing him, Mr Collins said: "No. Absolutely not. It did not happen.

"The bathroom door would not have been closed because it would have invited a member of staff to open it to see what was going on inside."

Mr Lynn argued that the victim's inconsistency with dates and history of mental illness showed that he could not be considered a reliable witness.

This was countered by Mr Forster who told the court that the inconsistencies in the victim's allegations, first reported in 2013, could be explained by the passage of time and their traumatic nature.

The jury found Collins guilty of five counts of indecent assault on Friday, November 13. He will serve five years and will be put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

However, Collins was cleared by the jury of attempted buggery and numerous counts of indecent assault against the same victim.