TWO women were sexually assaulted by a Renfrewshire postman wearing fingerless gloves, a court has heard.

The alleged victims, who are aged 23 and 51 but can’t be named for legal reasons, are said to have been targeted by John Campbell at business premises in Paisley.

Campbell, of Broomlea Crescent, Inchinnan, who is accused of preying on the admin workers between 2018 and 2019, went on trial at Paisley Sheriff Court last week.

The younger of the alleged victims told the court that part of her duties included going to the front of the business premises to collect mail from postal staff, one of whom was 51-year-old Campbell.

She added: “He would give you a handshake and a kiss on the cheek, things like that. It made me feel uncomfortable.

“He normally wears fingerless gloves. I took his hand and shook it, thinking that was all he was going to do. After the handshake, he pulled me in and he kissed me on the cheek.

“I felt uncomfortable.”

The woman said she told her colleagues what had happened and didn’t collect the mail for a number of months after this.

However, she said she later began collecting it again, leading to another incident with Campbell.

She explained: “He was passing over the mail, it was just a bit too close to the chest area.

“It was the way he angled his hands. There was a wee brush on the side of my breast. At first, I thought it was just an accident but then other staff noticed it more frequently.”

When quizzed by defence solicitor Gordon Nicol, she conceded the brush with her breast “could have been accidental.”

The second alleged victim also gave evidence, telling the court that, “for some time,” there had been interactions with Campbell that staff had all thought “were a bit inappropriate.”

She said: “He handed the mail to me and said ‘oh, you’re going to drop that.’

“I took a step back and said ‘No, I have it’ and he took a step forward to put his hand under the mail and the back of his right hand came across my right breast.”

Prosecutors claim Campbell forced himself on the first alleged victim on a number of occasions, touching her on the breast over her clothing and kissing her on the cheek, without her consent.

Campbell is said to have targeted his second alleged victim on October 14 last year by touching her on the breast over her clothing, without her consent.

He denies both charges and the trial was adjourned until next month.

Read all the latest from Renfrewshire and beyond