A paedophile ex-landlord who went on the run was discovered holed up in a seaside hotel.

Bryan Davies, ex-landlord of the Drum Inn in Stanford, near Ashford, was tracked down after he was picked up by the air ambulance from the Grand Burstin hotel in Folkestone last month.

He had fled a six-week long trial in Wales but was discovered after being airlifted to a London hospital after suffering a "medical incident".

He was found guilty of 29 child sex abuse offences at Mold Crown Court in Wales this month.

It came after the 71-year-old, also a former deputy principal of a children’s home in Ystrad Hall in Llangollen, was the subject of a five year National Crime Agency (NCA) probe dubbed Operation Pallial.

He was found guilty of 20 offences of buggery and indecent assault on eight teenage boys aged between 10 and 15 who were in care between 1976 and 1978.

He was also found guilty of nine internet-based offences between 2006 and 2012, where he would use live-streaming sites to incite young boys aged between 13 and 15 to engage in sexual acts for his pleasure.

NCA investigating officer Philip Marshall said: “Bryan Davies was sexually abusing vulnerable young boys who were in his care.

“He should have been protecting them – instead he exploited them for his own sexual gratification.

“It is clear from the forensic evidence from his computers that his predatory activity had developed in his use of the internet to engage young boys in sexual activity, continuing to present a real risk against the young boys he targeted.

A total of three men contacted the NCA with new complaints about the abuse they had suffered at the hands of Davies and the investigation team re-interviewed eight other men who had previously detailed abuse by him.

Davies was initially arrested by NCA officers in October 2013 in relation to the contact offences and a number of computers were seized for forensic examination.

However while on bail, Davies fled to Malta in an attempt to evade facing justice.

The examination of seized computers identified 167 indecent images of children – mainly young teenage boys – and a number of online conversations with three young boys who Davies incited to take part in sexual acts.

Working with the Crown Prosecution Service and Malta police force, Davies was arrested in August 2017 under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) and extradited to the UK.

He was sentenced to 22 years behind bars at Mold Crown Court.

Speaking after the sentencing Mr Marshall added: "I would like to pay tribute to the tenacity of all of the victims in this investigation, for their continued engagement over a number of years and for standing in court to provide harrowing evidence of their abuse.

"It is testament to their resolution and integrity that they have sought and achieved justice for events that happened over 40 years ago, but which for them remain real and tangible in their personal lives."