A bus driver who lured a woman onto his bus and sexually assaulted her has been jailed for two years.

Mr Mohammed Tamim Uddin, aged 25 of Newham was arrested on Wednesday, 10 May and charged with charged with one count of sexual assault on a female, one count of false imprisonment and one count of public nuisance. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced this week.

He was jailed for two years and will remain subject to notifications requirements under the Sexual Offences Act for 10 years.

The court heard that on Sunday 30 April, Mr Uddin was driving a route 25 bus from Ilford to Oxford Circus. At the end of the route, he parked the bus in Harewood Place, a side street where the buses turn for the return journey.

He then beckoned a 25-year-old French woman who was standing near the bus onto the bus to assist her with directions. As she did so, he closed the doors and persuaded her to assist him in fixing an alarm on the upstairs rear window Once at the window, he sexually assaulted her. As she tried to run away screaming, he cornered her next to the cab and exposed himself. He then performed a sex act upon himself.

After almost four minutes Mr Uddin finally used the emergency door release and the distraught woman was able to escape. Mr Uddin then returned to work as a bus driver.

Detective Constable Teresa Moore from the Roads and Transport Policing Command said: "The victim has had a traumatic experience from her ordeal. Mohammed Uddin deceived the woman into a falsehood of security as he pretended to give her directions and then abused her.

"The sentence sends out a clear message that such conduct will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly. "

Siwan Hayward, TfL's Head of Transport Policing, said: "Uddin's behaviour was sickening and I condemn his actions. Our passengers have the right to expect the highest standards of behaviour and customer care from transport staff across the capital. Uddin used his position of trust to prey on his victim.

"I commend the woman for bravely coming forward to report this despicable crime to police, so it could be fully investigated and Uddin jailed for his actions.

"We will be undertaking a comprehensive review to determine how this happened and learn lessons so that it does not happen again."

Charlie Beaumont from Tower Transit, the bus company that operate the bus route said: "The driver was suspended from his job immediately when notification was received of the original complaint, and he was taken through a disciplinary process involving CCTV review which resulted in Uddin's dismissal in advance of the court case.

"There was full cooperation with the Police during the process in order to ensure the legal proceedings were not jeopardised in any way, and we are undertaking a comprehensive review to understand what more could be done in future to prevent these types of incidents in the future - which, while extremely rare, are clearly completely unacceptable."

His Honour Judge Heir described Uddin's actions as "chilling and disgusting" and constituted a "huge breach of trust," telling Uddin "you exploited your responsible position" and that he had "tricked" the victim.