A former Wiltshire parish councillor has been found guilty of a string of sexual assaults on teenage boys in Swindon.

Timothy Darch, a member of Lyneham and Bradenstoke Parish Council's planning committee as recently as 2020, was found guilty of eight offences at Swindon Crown Court on Tuesday, February 20.

This included four counts of rape on a boy under the age of 16, and four counts of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 16.

The 62-year-old, of Southrop Road Kingsway, Quedgeley, committed the offences between 1996 and 1997, on three teenagers.

Police said Darch exploited the vulnerable children after putting himself in a position of trust, meeting victims through Swindon organisations such as support charities for young gay men.

Detective Constable Ross Duff, from Swindon CID, said: "I would like to thank his victims for their incredible bravery throughout this process, by giving their evidence to police and throughout the trial.

“I hope this verdict reassures our community that we take these allegations very seriously, and that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

“We will relentlessly pursue offenders to secure justice for their victims and want to reassure anyone who reports incidents of serious sexual assault and rape to us that they will be believed”.

Darch is due to be sentenced at Swindon Crown Court on March 28.