A KEBAB shop worker has been spared jail after he admitted sexually assaulting a young woman in a Chester nightclub.

The victim said Meyvan Topchiev, 24, had stuck his hand out and grabbed her private parts as he walked past her in Rosie's at around 1.45am on October 4 this year.

He claimed he had no recollection of the incident, but admitted the assault after police officers showed him CCTV footage.

Stephen Ferns, defending, told Chester Magistrates Court: “He touches her for a split second; he barely breaks his stride. It's bizarre behaviour and he can't explain it. He has no recollection of it.”

Topchiev, of Victoria Road, Saltney, was handed a four-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, and must complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay the victim £200 in compensation and must sign on the sex offenders register for seven years.

Kate Marchuk, prosecuting, said the victim and her friend had been in the outside area of the nightclub on Northgate Street before deciding to return inside.

“She and her friend went towards the double doors leading inside,” Miss Marchuk said. “She saw a male approaching her and saw him move his left hand towards the area of her crotch. She then felt him grab her vagina.

“He continued walking past her and she turned around to look at him. She said to her friend 'oh my God, he just touched my vagina', and indicated to her who the male was.

“Her friend reported the matter to the bouncers and the police were called. The defendant was then arrested.”

Topchiev was interviewed twice and made full admissions on the second occasion, after viewing CCTV footage.

“He accepted he had no consent and no reason to believe that it would have been acceptable,” Miss Marchuk told the court.

Mr Ferns, defending, said Topchiev, a Bulgarian national, works 37 hours a week with his brother at a kebab shop in Queensferry and rarely socialises.

On the night of the incident he had been extremely drunk and behaved in a manner that was out of character, Mr Ferns said.

“He is extremely apologetic,” he added.

On top of the compensation, Topchiev, who has no previous convictions either in the UK or Bulgaria, must also pay a £115 victim surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.