A DISGRACED Basingstoke cabbie, who subjected a teenager to a terrifying sex attack in the dark, is today behind bars.

Judge Michael Brodrick said former Alpha Cars private hire driver Anthony Middleton had brought shame on all who work in his trade.

Middleton was convicted of indecent assault by a jury at Winchester Crown Court on August 17.

The 44-year-old father-of-three picked up his victim, 18-year-old Cristin Embury, at Liquid nightclub in Basingstoke in the early hours of February 6, and drove her to her home in Oakley.

Miss Embury's pet puppy escaped as she opened her front door and Middleton followed the drunken teenager up a lonely wooded path nearby under the pretence of helping her search for it.

He attempted to kiss Miss Embury, continuing the assault after she had fallen onto the ground, but his plucky victim fought him off and ran away.

Miss Embury - who can be identified by The Gazette after she agreed to waive her automatic right to anonymity - reported the attack to the police, who traced the rogue driver from CCTV footage.

Middleton had been working only his fourth nightshift at Alpha Cars, of Joices Yard, Basingstoke, on the night of the attack, and was dismissed by the company after the police charged him. He had previously worked as a driver for Basingstoke Passenger Services for five years.

The court heard that Middleton had previous convictions, including ABH, for which he was bound over in 1988, but none for offences of a sexual nature.

Christopher Amis, defending, told the judge that the indecent assault on Miss Embury was "completely out of character" for his client.

However, Judge Brodrick told Middleton: "Your conduct reflects adversely on all other taxi drivers and it's likely to cause young women to reflect on whether it's wise to take a taxi. The offence is made much more serious because of this consideration."

Sentencing Middleton to a three-and-a-half-year extended sentence, which means he will spend six months in jail and the rest of the term under the supervision of the Probation Service, the judge said: "I'm quite satisfied that only a custodial sentence is adequate to meet the seriousness of this offence."

He also ordered Middleton to be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for seven years.