A 47-year-old man has been jailed for 18 months and placed on the sex offenders register after admitting a string of sex attacks on Ilford buses.

Giorge Zhukas, of no fixed abode, will be on the register for 10 years after pleading guilty to nine counts of sexual assault in this borough and Waltham Forest.

He was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday.

Zhukas, an Albanian national, will also be deported after his time in prison.

The court heard that Zhukas sexually assaulted nine girls and women, aged between 13 and 43, on buses between August 11 and October 16 last year.

In four of the offences the quality of the CCTV was of such high quality that the Crown Prosecution Service authorised charging, even though the victim had not been identified.

The Roads and Transport Policing Command Reactive Investigations Team led the investigation and obtained CCTV footage from the bus, which led to Zhukas being identified and arrested on October 20 last year.

He was charged on November 11 and appeared at Bow Magistrates’ Court the following day.

Det Supt Adnan Qureshi, roads and transport policing command, said: “I commend these victims, some of whom were teenagers, for having the courage to come forward and report these appalling crimes.

“Thanks to their selfless actions, this despicable individual has received a lengthy prison sentence and deportation upon his release, which I hope reassures others to come forward in similar circumstances with information that can assist with a conviction.

The investigation was part of Project Guardian - a multi-agency initiative involving the Metropolitan Police Service, British Transport Police, City of London Police and Transport for London.