AN Ellesmere Port man had been told he will face "a lengthy custodial sentence" after he admitted inciting eight underage boys to engage in sexual activity online.

Terence Hamblett, 43, of Seymour Drive, also made and owned hundreds of indecent images of children, Chester Crown Court heard on Monday, November 12.

The 20 charges Hamblett pleaded guilty to also included possession of extreme pornography, voyeurism and encouraging a man via Skype to arrange for their son to engage in a sex act.

Judge Patrick Thompson adjourned the case until next month for a pre-sentence report but warned Hamblett to expect a lengthy custodial sentence.

All the charges dated between September 1, 2002 and September 9, 2016 and all took place in Ellesmere Port.

Eight of the charges which Hamblett pleaded guilty to, ranging between 2011 and 2016, involved inciting boys aged between 13 and 15 to engage in a sex act online.

Hamblett pleaded guilty to making 233 indecent photos of a child which were 'category A' – the most severe; 245 indecent images of children at category B and 444 indecent images of a child at category C.

He admitted possessing 922 indecent photos of a child and distributing indecent photos of a child – 566 at category A and 39 at category B.

He admitted having in his possession on September 8, 2016, 72 extreme pornographic images of people performing sex acts with animals.

He also pleaded guilty to an act of voyeurism which took place between January 1, 2013 and April 21, 2014.

Defending, James Coutts made an application for a pre-sentence report, adding it was inevitable there would be a custodial sentence and Hamblett had no previous convictions.

Hamblett had been on unconditional bail prior to Monday's court appearance, but Judge Thompson said: "I find it astonishing, in fact I find it unacceptable, that the defendant is currently on unconditional bail.

"When people are on bail they can be on computers for anything."

Prosecuting, Simon Duncan said he was new to the case but added: "I apologise that this issue was not addressed."

Hamblett was placed on conditional bail, subject to a lengthy number of conditions, including that he must not use a computer or device capable of storing images without police permission, must have monitoring software installed on any computer he wants to use, and must not be in the same household or make any contact with children aged 18 without the permission of social services or their parental guardian.

He must also now sign the sex offenders' register.