A TEENAGE girl plucked up the courage to tell her mother about a sex assault ordeal after watching an episode of EastEnders in which a character was raped.

Now, 64-year-old William Edge faces the threat of being jailed after a jury convicted him of a string of sex offences against the young girl.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was first abused by Edge, of Birch Road, Tadley, when she was just four, and her ordeal continued for eight years.

Winchester Crown Court heard the abuse ended when the girl was 12.

However, she did not tell anyone what had happened to her until she saw the episode of the BBC soap opera in which the character Little Mo was raped.

In a video-taped interview with police, that was shown to the court, the girl told officers why she had come forward.

She said: "The night before, I had a dream he did it to my younger sister and when I saw EastEnders, it brought it all back."

The teenager said she told her mother about Edge to "stop him from doing it to other people".

Edge - who is not related to the victim - denied four specimen charges of indecent assault and two charges of gross indecency with a child, but the jury at Winchester Crown Court convicted him unanimously of all the charges.

The girl said Edge, whom she described as "sick" and "horrid", had abused her on at least 50 occasions.

Edge told the court that the attacks had never happened and accused the girl of "wicked invention".

However, after the jury returned guilty verdicts, Judge Michael Brodrick told Edge: "I need to make it plain these are offences which will inevitably be viewed as serious. A custodial sentence must be a real possibility."

Edge was given bail while pre-sentence reports are prepared, and he is expected to appear in court next month for sentencing.