A taxi driver has been convicted by a jury of molesting a female passenger by trying to kiss her.

Shahzad Yousaf, 44, of Moorbottom Road, Thornton Lodge, was found guilty at Leeds Crown Court yesterday of sexual assault on the teenager on January 3 last year.

The girl, who was 18 at the time, said he had driven her to Meltham after she had been on a night out with a friend and then quoted her a fare of £9.50.

She told the jury she queried that saying she normally paid only £8 and Yousaf told her: “It would be cheaper if you give me a kiss.”

She said she refused but he put his arms around her and started kissing the side of her neck and cheek until she shrugged him off.

The teenager said she was angry about what had happened and subsequently reported it to the police.

Yousaf denied he tried to kiss the girl and claimed she had tried to kiss him, an account which was rejected by the jury.

Sentence was adjourned to Bradford Crown Court on March 31 for a probation report but Recorder Ben Nolan QC warned Yousaf while it was not the gravest sexual assault, the circumstances made it very serious and prison was “extremely likely”.