Former Fleetwood pub landlord Tom Dewhirst jailed for sexual assaults on young British Army soldiers

Ex Corporal Thomas Michael Dewhirst, former landlord of Additions Cafe Bar in Bold Street, preyed on five vulnerable young men who had been looking forward to a life in the Army.

Instead, they were subjected to terrifying and humiliating sexual assaults at the hands of a man in a more senior position within the regiment.

Dewhirst pleaded not guilty to 12 charges including indecent assault, buggery and attempted buggery.

He was court-martialed to stand trial at the Military Court Centre in Catterick, North Yorkshire on March 18 where he was convicted on seven charges.

Sign up for our free newsletters now Dewhirst appeared at the count for sentence, where Judge Legard handed out a prison term of nine and a half years. The assaults took place between 1985 and 1993 when Dewhirst was serving as a Corporal with the 28 Amphibious Engineer Regiment in Hameln, Germany.

Dewhirst was found guilty of seven counts of indecent assault on five men when he appeared at the Court Martial Centre in Catterick.

The military court found him not guilty on five charges - three indecent assaults, one buggery and one attempted buggery - after prosecutors failed to provide evidence to support these charges.