A sick paedophile who only admitted sexually abusing a six-year-old boy after he was arrested for downloading child porn has been jailed.

Diosdado Manalo, 52, was arrested when police raided his Hythe Road home in July 2013 after suspecting indecent images of children were being accessed through the Internet at that address.

Initially Manalo refused to answer any questions when he was interviewed by officers and he was released on bail while they made further inquiries.

But when interviewed again in January this year, Manalo confessed to downloading the child porn, claiming he had done it because of a "burden" he had been living with for years.

Manalo's guilty secret was that in 2008, while living in Cambridgeshire, he had sexually abused a six-year-old boy before returning to his native home the Philippines.

Manalo was charged with five counts of possessing indecent images of children, three counts of making indecent images, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual assault on a boy.

He pleaded guilty to all charges and yesterday at Canterbury Crown Court he was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.

Detective Constable Mark Bennett, of the Kent Police paedophile and online investigation team, said: "I'm glad that through our investigations, the sexual abuse carried out by Manalo has come to light.

"We are very aware of how difficult it can be for victims to come forward so we will continue to do all we can to identify and protect children through our online investigations, wherever they may be.

"While we are grateful for the honesty eventually provided by Manalo, it is important to reflect that the real suffering with regards to this type of abuse is that of the victims.

"I would urge anyone who has been a victim of such a crime to talk to someone who can provide you with support. I promise you that when you tell police, we will do everything in our power to bring the offender to justice."