TV weatherman Fred Talbot guilty of indecently assaulting two boys

TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been exposed as an "opportunistic sex offender" after he was found guilty of indecently assaulting two boys, Greater Manchester Police said.

Judge Timothy Mort told Talbot his sentence should start today bearing in mind his "abuse of trust", but the former teacher has been remanded in custody until he is sentenced on March 13.

ITV News Correspondent Damon Green reports from Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court:

Responding to the conviction for child sex abuse by their former teacher Fred Talbot, Altrincham Grammar School for boys said their thoughts are with their former pupils who were abused by him.

Video footage released by Greater Manchester Police shows Fred Talbot being interviewed.

When he is first questioned he consistently answers "no comment" before stating that he has panic attacks.

"Talbot is a prolific diary writer and dozens of books covering most of his life were recovered when police raided his home. A number of diary entries marked with asterisks were found alongside entries relating to the victims," a police spokesperson said.

"On interview he told police they referred to panic attacks but later admitted it was a code denoting that sexual activity having taken place."

• Read: Police release diary entries written by Fred Talbot

DC Chris Doggart, from Greater Manchester Police, paid tribute to the courage of the victims of Fred Talbot.

Speaking outside court after the former ITV Weather Presenter was convicted of two counts of indecent assault, DC Doggart condemned Talbot for not admitting his crimes and making his victims relive the trauma of their abuse in court. He said:

Nazir Afzal, Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS North West praised the courage and resolve of the victims of Fred Talbot, who he said abused the trust placed in him by parents.

Talbot was found guilty of assaulting two boys under 16 and was acquitted of a further eight counts of indecent assault.

Greater Manchester Police have released diary entries written by Fred Talbot that were shown to the jury at his trial.

The "secret past" of television weatherman Fred Talbot can be revealed after he was found guilty of indecently assaulting two boys, Greater Manchester Police said.

Speaking after the guilty verdicts, a police spokesperson said: "Talbot was an extremely popular and well liked individual - both as a celebrity weatherman and formerly as a science teacher - who earned not only the trust and adulation of many of his peers and pupils, but also much of the nation.

"Now he has been exposed as an opportunistic sex offender and that reputation is rightly in tatters.

"Even when he was not committing offences against the two vulnerable young boys, his behaviour was wholly inappropriate and so far removed from his duty as a teacher to nurture and safeguard those under his care it really does defy belief."

TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been found guilty of indecently assaulting two schoolboys when he was a teacher.

Talbot, 65, was said by the prosecution to be "a chancer" who used his "boundless energy" and "extrovert personality" to gain the affection and trust of his victims.

The jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court cleared him of eight counts of indecent assault on three boys, but found Talbot guilty of assaults on two other boys.

He was said to have been "obsessed" with teenage boys throughout his teaching career and "could not help himself" around them when under the influence of drink.

Fred Talbot has been convicted of two charges of indecent assault in boys in his care during his career as a teacher. He will be remanded in custody for sentencing on March 13.