A job seeker barred from working with children after being cautioned for indecently assaulting a child 14 years ago applied for a job driving youngsters.

At Carlisle Crown Court, Mark Gascoigne, 60, admitted seeking to engage in a regulated activity from which he was barred under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act. He was cautioned 2003 for indecently assaulting a girl under 16, he court heard.

As a result, he was placed on the barring list indefinitely.

But last November he applied for a job with Cumbria County Council as an adult/child workforce driver, though the court heard that his application never had a chance of succeeding.

Gascoigne, of High Rigg, Brigham, was given a 12-month community order, with 100 hours unpaid work and a rehabilitation requirement.

He must also pay £1,500 costs.

"You may think it is draconian," Recorder David Swinnerton told the defendant. "It's meant to be: it's to protect children."