A FORMER shop worker who went into the home of a woman customer and repeatedly tried to kiss her was jailed for 15 months today, Wednesday.

Ali Rizwan had become friendly with the woman and wanted the relationship to develop so decided that one evening after finishing work at the corner shop in Hindley he would go to her house taking food with him.

He had not been invited but went inside and while there tried to kiss her on three occasions.

“It was perfectly obvious she did not want you to do that,” said the judge, Recorder Stephen Riordan, QC.

“Eventually, probably because her dog barked, you left the house and went back shortly afterwards to deliver a note saying you were sorry for what had happened.”

Arthur Gibson, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that the victim, who was in her early 30s, had been badly affected by the incident and had been left wary of going outside.

Rizwan, 32 of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman.

The offence happened in June 2014 but Rizwan skipped bail and was only re-arrested in January this year.

Jailing him the judge said that he would be due to be released from the sentence after serving half but as his asylum application from Pakistan has yet to be decided his release would not be automatic and was dependant on the immigration authorities.

Recorder Riordan imposed an indefinite restraining order to keep away from the victim and ordered him to sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

Martyn Walsh, defending, said that Rizwan has no previous convictions and is sorry for his behaviour.