AN Ellesmere Port man on a Sexual Harm Prevention Order threw his mobile phone out of the window when police came round to inspect it.

David James Davies, 37, of Richmond Court, pleaded guilty to two breaches of the SHPO after it was discovered he had also deleted his internet history on the devices.

But Chester Magistrates Court heard on Monday, March 16 that there was no evidence Davies – who was handed the five-year SHPO at Chester Crown Court in August 2015 for owning indecent images of children – had been looking at any more indecent images.

He later told police in interview he had been looking at adult pornography, while Rebecca Boswell, defending, told the court there was evidence on the phone Davies was looking to find drugs.

"It would have been better for him if they had found that," Ms Boswell added.

Prosecuting, Rob Youds said it was on October 9, 2019 when police gathered intelligence that Davies had been using the internet.

Under the terms of the SHPO, if Davies uses an internet-enabled device, he must not delete his internet history and must make the device available for police inspection.

Police arrived at his address to search for the phone and, as they prepared to leave, the phone was discovered outside the window.

It was later examined and found that data, including a number of images, had been deleted.

When interviewed, Davies confirmed he had thrown the phone out of the window and he had been using it to look at adult pornography.

Defending, Ms Boswell said this had been the first breach Davies had made, with the order due to run out in August.

Back in 2015, Davies had a back problem which left him isolated at home and he had taken to drugs, alcohol and, unfortunately, the internet.

He had fully complied with the other aspects of the SHPO and had been working for Kier until the waste management contract went back to Cheshire West and Chester Council, and he lost his job.

As a result, he had turned back to drugs and had thrown the phone out of the window because he did not want police to find out he was trying to find information on finding drugs.

Since the arrest, he had not touched alcohol or drugs and was due to start a new job.

He also had his family around him, supporting him.

Magistrates agreed to keep jurisdiction in their court, meaning the case will not be sent to Chester Crown Court.

A pre-sentence report will be compiled and Davies is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9.