PIZZA delivery driver Tahir Mehmood has been sentenced to four and a half years for having sex with a child.

The 27-year-old was jailed at Swindon Crown Court yesterday for having sex with a 15-year-old girl after taking her to an empty bungalow he kept for family visiting from Pakistan.

The incident dates back to July 2012, when Mehmood had also been accused of raping the teenager, but the jury in his trial failed to reach a verdict last month.

It was the second time the Crown had tried the father of four step-children on that charge and failed to get a result. It will no longer proceed with it.

In sentencing Mehmood, Judge Douglas Field said: “You are now 27. The jury convicted you of having sexual intercourse with the complainant when she was under 16.

“She was 15, she was about a month short of her 16th birthday. You were 26, a mature, married man with four step-children.

“She, in my judgement, was a rather naive and immature teenager. It’s clear she was only 15 and there’s a disparity in your ages.

“The circumstances are so serious, I must pass an immediate sentence of imprisonment.

“Bearing in mind she was a month short of her 16th birthday, there’s no need to impose the starting point of five years.”

The driver, who worked for Domino’s Pizza in West Swindon, was also ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely.

In her final submission to the judge, Tessa Hingston, prosecuting, said: “In her victim impact statement the girl has said, since the incident, it has been a lot more difficult for her to trust male friends.

“It was a long time before she felt comfortable being intimate with the one boyfriend she has had since the incident.

“She struggles to take lifts or use taxis with lone men.

“He took advantage of her trust and it has put her through a great deal of stress.”

During the sentencing it came to light Mehmood had separated from his wife and step-children, and had been living at an address in West Swindon.

In mitigation for Mehmood, Siobhan Molloy said: “He’s very frightened and it was quite difficult trying to communicate because of the pain he was in.

“He is no longer with his wife as a result of these proceedings and has moved out of the family address.”