AN airport worker from Cheshire has been jailed for 18 months after admitting having sexual activity with a child and possessing thousands of indecent images.

Christopher Ashbrook, of Wallerscote Road, Weaverham, pleaded guilty at Chester Crown Court to engaging in sexual activity with a child, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, engaging in sexual communication with a child, three counts of making (downloading) indecent images of children and possession of indecent images of children.

On November 11, 2017, a warrant was executed at the 35-year-old’s house after he had been identified as the person who had uploaded five indecent images, of category C, of young boys to Twitter.

Officers seized his phone, laptops and a tablet and uncovered that he had a total of 1,563 images and videos of children with 110 of those being category A, the most serious type, and 85 category B.

Officers also found that he had been engaging in sexual conversations with children on Periscope, a streaming service.

When interviewed by officers Ashbrook claimed that he had started speaking to boys online - while pretending to be a 14 year old boy called Gavin - to try and protect them from paedophiles.

He claimed that he had stopped one boy from being exploited but then he started to send him sexual messages.

While Ashbrook was on bail a 15-year-old boy came forward to police and said that Ashbrook had touched him sexually and made sexual comments to him.

At Chester Crown Court on Thursday, June 20, Ashbrook was jailed for 18 months and told to sign on the sex offenders register for 10 years. He was also given a 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Detective Constable Simon Ledger said: “Ashbrook has continually tried to play down his offending by claiming he was trying to help young boys and not exploit them.

“In reality he has tried to exploit boys over a long period of time and is a committed paedophile. I want to thank the victim for his bravery in coming forward and supporting a prosecution.”