Teacher Alan Brigden admits sex offences at St George's School

Brigden was a former maths teacher at the school, which no longer exists

An ex-teacher has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing children while he worked at a private school.

Alan Brigden, 67, committed the offences in the 1970s and 1980s while at St George's School which was based at Wicklewood, Norfolk before it moved to Great Finborough, Suffolk.

During a hearing at Ipswich Crown Court, Brigden admitted 14 sex assault charges, some of which were committed when he taught in West Sussex.

He will be sentenced at a later date.

The offences included six counts of indecent assault on, four counts of gross indecency with a child and four charges of assault with intent to commit a serious sexual assault.

'Traumatic experiences'

Brigden also went by the name Alan Morton. St George's School has since closed.

He was extradited from Holland, where he lived, as part of a wider police investigation into sexual abuse at St George's.

Speaking after the court hearing, Det Insp Adrian Randall, from Suffolk Police, said: "One of the offences committed by Brigden happened almost 35 years ago, longer than the oldest of Slade's crimes.

"Today's result demonstrates that time and borders will not stand in the way of dealing with offenders who may think they have evaded the law.

"I hope that the outcome of today's hearing is of comfort to those victims who now will not have to relive the traumatic experiences they went through at the hands of Brigden."

His conviction comes after the former head of St George's, Derek Slade, was jailed for 21 years in 2010, for more than 50 sex offences committed in Norfolk and Suffolk, between 1978 and 1983.

In 2011, another teacher, Alan Williams, killed himself after being arrested on suspicion of sex assaults at St George's, when it was at Great Finborough, in the 1980s.

The current Finborough School on the same site is unconnected to St George's School.