A man groped a teenager as TV cameras recorded Prince Charles laying a wreath at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony, a court heard.

Phillip Lowe, 46, of Grafton Street, Brighton, was found guilty of molesting his startled victim as the crowds milled around the Cenotaph in London on November 11 last year.

Lowe, now a car park attendant at Gatwick, tickled the 18-year-old under the arms and put his hands down his victim's trousers.

Southwark Crown Court heard Lowe quizzed the teenager about his personal life before fondling him until the young man told a police officer.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court: "It went on for about an hour.

"It was only after about half an hour when he had his hands down my trousers I realised it was not accidental."

Lowe claimed the youth made gestures at him and ruined his concentration by talking on his phone.

He said: "I thought the most diplomatic way to handle the situation, because I did not want to make an embarrassing scene at the Cenotaph, was to engage him in conversation."

Lowe admitted tickling the teenager under the armpits but denied indecent assault.

He was convicted by jury on Friday and bailed to return to court for sentencing on April 25.