A man has been jailed for breaching the terms of a sexual harm prevention order after he repeatedly pestered a woman on the streets of Reading - leaving her feeling 'scared.'

Over the course of two months, Oliver Williams-Smith, 35, persistently approached a woman at a bus stop in Friar Street.

The defendant - of London Road, Reading - is banned from approaching women in public according to the terms of a court order.

This was imposed after Williams-Smith was convicted of sexual assault in 2016.

He is a qualified chemical engineer, with a degree from King's College London.

At sentencing today (June 3), defence barrister Alex Granville described Williams-Smith as an "intelligent man," whose life had been dogged by schizophrenia and drug addiction.

Between December 2023 and the end January this year, the defendant repeatedly approached the same woman in Friar Street.

Judge Neil Millard told Williams-Smith: "You started walking towards her, saying: 'Excuse me, excuse me.'

"You asked her for money and directions. That left her feeling scared."

A pre-sentence report found that the defendant posed a "high risk" to the public.

On the basis of this - and the persistence of Williams-Smith's offending - the judge jailed him for a year and six months.

He will serve half this sentence in prison.

Sending the defendant away, Judge Millard urged the defendant to seek treatment in prison, and to change his ways.

He told Williams-Smith: "You're clearly an educated man. You clearly have some potential."