A former staff member at a children’s home has been jailed for 15 years for child abuse dating back to the 1980s.

Willy Gillham was sentenced at Southampton crown court after being found guilty of four counts of serious sexual offences against a boy under the age of 16.

The court heard the 64-year-old Gillham, from Deux-Sèvres in France, had committed offences including rape and indecent assault at the former Palmerston House children’s home in Romsey, Hampshire, during the 1980s.