A sex offender who used crowded tube trains to get close to his victims has been jailed.

Lloyd Weekes, 52, of Holly Park Estate, Finsbury Park, molested four women during rush-hour on Northern and Central Line trains over a period of 15 months.

On each occasion Weekes stood close to, or behind, his female victims, touching them inappropriately several times.

The first reported incident took place on a Northern Line train between Clapham Common and Stockwell at 8.35am on December 1, 2011.

His victim boarded a busy train just before the doors closed but soon noticed Weekes behind her was unusually close. When he continued to touch her for several minutes she shouted at him and he quickly left the train at Stockwell station.

Another attack, in February 2013, took place on a Central Line train between Holborn and Chancery Lane at 5.30pm,

Weekes stood next to and repeatedly touched a woman on the packed train as she attempted to make her way home from work, before leaving the train at Chancery Lane.

Weekes was caught out on the Central Line a month later when officers from the British Transport Police (BTP) saw him sexually assault a woman at just before 6pm on March 7, 2013.

He was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Blackfriars Crown Court last Friday, made subject to a five-year sexual offender prevention order (SOPO) and placed on the sex offender’s register for the same period.

Sgt Anna Fisk, from BTP’s public protection unit, said: “Without the help and cooperation of each of the victims in these cases, this successful prosecution would not have been possible.

“I would like to take this opportunity to praise and thank each of them for their help and cooperation in what were hugely distressing and upsetting situations for them.

“No one has the right to make people feel vulnerable as they travel on the rail network, as Weekes did on numerous occasions. This kind of unwanted sexual behaviour is exactly the kind of conduct we are committed to identifying and stamping out.

“I would encourage anyone who feels they have been a victim of anything similar to follow the example set by Weekes’ victims by reporting what happened to us.

“This can help us deal with the person responsible, and can help stop it happening to someone else.”