QUARRIERS boss Phil Robinson today revealed measures were taken to prevent a former house parent convicted of sex offences from posing any risk to children currently in the charity's care.

Mr Robinson spoke out after Alexander Wilson was jailed for seven and a half years for sexually abusing young girls he was looking after.

He assured parents whose children are cared for in the village - where Wilson also stayed - that special security measures were in place to ensure their safety.

Wilson (61), of 8 Carsemeadow, Quarriers Village, was found guilty of 15 charges of indecency and indecent assault, going back to 1967.

Mr Robinson said he wanted to reassure the families of the 25 children who attend an eight-bed and six-bed unit, the only children's service still located within Quarriers' Village.

He said: "Alexander Wilson has been a resident of Quarriers Village for many years. He had bought his home from Quarriers. It is to be expected that the fact of his presence may raise questions about the safety and security of those children.

"Let me make a number of points to reassure parents and the public at large.

"Quarriers today has in place child protection measures that are among the most sophisticated in the country. In accordance with national guidelines and best practice, no unauthorised person is ever given access to children in our care.

"The children who attend our units in Quarriers Village are supervised at all times and are not allowed out of the units unaccompanied."

Wilson, who retired from Quarriers in 1987, is the fourth man to be convicted of sexual offences against children in his care.

Jailing Wilson at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, the judge, Lord Burns QC, told him he had breached the trust placed in him.