A train driver from High Wycombe who took photos up a sleeping woman's skirt has been handed a suspended sentence for the 'vile and disgusting' act. 

Paolo Barone, 51, of Brackley Road, was travelling home from his shift as a Thameslink driver and still wearing his uniform when he committed the offence on a train between Blackfriars and St Albans on September 15, 2022.

British Transport Police said Barone repeatedly took photographs of the sleeping woman during the 45-minute journey and, before disembarking at St Albans, positioned his phone so that it was directed up her skirt.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Daryl Keogh said the woman was 'horrified' when she learned what had happened, describing it as a 'hideous violation of trust'.

The 51-year-old was identified to the police by his employer and arrested at his home, where five photos of the woman were found on a mobile phone.

He was found guilty of voyeurism and sentenced to three months in prison suspended for 12 months.

He will also have to complete a 55-hour rehabilitation activity requirement and sign the sex offenders register for seven years.

DC Keogh said: "Wearing his uniform meant Barone was in a position of trust when he committed this vile and disgusting violation.

"Seeing (that) the woman was sleeping and vulnerable, he took the opportunity not to watch out for her, but to commit this hideous act.

"The woman was horrified when she learned what had happened as she slept."

Jean Cockerill, people director for Govia Thameslink Railway, said she was "shocked and appalled" to hear about the incident.

Adding: "As soon as we were made aware, we followed our internal procedures, which included suspending the individual as soon as he was identified.

"We hold our colleagues to the highest standards of conduct and this type of behaviour will never be tolerated.

"We thank the person for their courage in coming forward and reporting this crime, and we encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses this type of behaviour on the railway to report it to the British Transport Police."

DC Keogh said: "We will stop at nothing to deter, pursue, arrest and bring sex offenders on the railway network to justice.

“We urge everyone to save 61016 to their phones and download the Railway Guardian app before you travel so you can discreetly get in touch with us if you need us.”