A man lured a teenage girl down a country lane and sexually assaulted her after claiming he was wanted to walk her home to protect her from "sick" men.

Scott Davis targeted the lone 15-year-old girl in the early hours of the morning, taking her to a quiet lane in Melksham, and posed as an ex-firefighter.

He kissed and sexually assaulted her for about two minutes.

At Salisbury Crown Court on Wednesday, September 13, Davis, 39, was found guilty of sexual assault.

Orlando Gibbons, prosecuting, said that the young victim had been walking home from a house party in January 2022 because she wanted her own bed.

But she was accosted by Davis who claimed to be an ex-firefighter, told her it was "dangerous" and said there were "sick" men about.

In a video-recorded interview, the girl said: "He kept going on about other men [being a danger], I was agreeing with what he was saying; it wasn’t wrong. I was feeling like reassured."

Around 20 minutes into the walk, Davis grabbed the girl's hand. She attempted to pull away, but he squeezed it tight.

The girl said that she felt "scared" and "didn't know what was going to happen", describing how he was much bigger than her and she probably wouldn't be able to fight him off.

The former rugby player took her down an unknown lane - where he grabbed her around the waist, pulled her closer and kissed her on the lips.

"You've got a good figure", he told the girl - whilst proceeding to put his hands down her trousers and squeezing her buttocks.

"I tried to leave, but I couldn’t really move because of how tight he was holding me around my waist", she told DC Greenman. "I was scared, I didn’t know what to do.”

After the assault, Davis repeatedly told the girl his full name and asked her to add him on Instagram - giving her the username "Scotty Bear".

The victim replied: "Please I want to leave, there’s cameras, you’re on camera", and he started to walk away but as he did, he continued to ask her to find him on social media.

Mr Gibbons said that when the victim eventually opened up about her ordeal weeks later, photographs of a locally-known Scott Davis were shown to her by a friend who found images online. She positively identified him as her attacker.

Davis - who didn't take to the stand to give evidence - claimed it was a case of mistaken identity.

Mr Gibbons told the court that the defendant provided a prepared statement in police custody - outright denying the offence.

He said he had been working at a public house as a glass collector and left work after midnight on 1 January, and "went straight home". He said he couldn't recall the route he took.

Davis, of Melksham, was released on conditional bail 'to get his affairs in order' ahead of his sentencing hearing in November.