PROFESSIONAL footballer Guy Madjo has been jailed in his absence for three-and-a-half years for sexually assaulting a woman at his home.

The married Cameroonian striker, who has played for a string of English clubs including Petersfield Town in 2004 and Aldershot Town in 2012, invited the 27 year-old to sleep on the sofa at the house, after she was locked out of her flat nearby.

Winchester Crown Court heard how she woke up to find him assaulting her and left the house.

She called the police but claimed Madjo, who was living in Grayshott, followed her. She ran away but fell and hid behind a car, where she was found by a neighbour.

The 31 year old did not attend the trial. A previous hearing was told he was in West Africa and had recently played for teams in Gabon. A warrant for his arrest was issued in May but the trial went ahead when he failed to return to the UK.

Rebecca Austin, prosecuting, said the woman had been drinking in a Grayshott pub and got her hand stuck in her letterbox when she got back to her flat, after discovering she had been locked out.

Madjo, a near neighbour, helped her to remove her hand and said she could stay on his sofa.