A Gravesend man has been jailed for three years after he was caught with a horde of child abuse films with a combined running time of almost three days.

John Appleton was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court on June 16 after admitting a string of offences.

The 62-year-old was arrested after officers from the Kent Police Child Exploitation Investigation Team identified a computer with his internet protocol address had been accessing indecent images of children.

A warrant was executed at Appleton's home address in Mike Spring Court, Valley Drive, on December 12 last year, where officers found a laptop hidden behind a sofa and several flash drives.

A digital forensic analyst examined the items and recovered 386 video clips of children at all levels of seriousness.

This included three and a half hours' worth of clips at Level 5, the most serious.

Appleton was charged with ten counts of possessing indecent images of children and one count of breaking the terms of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order he had been made subject to after he was convicted of a similar offences in 2006 and 2011.

DC Jon Baker said: "In interview, John Appleton claimed he had no sexual interest in children but was compelled to search for and download these images.

"This is unacceptable. Each indecent image contains a victim and there is never any excuse to view or download indecent images of children.

"The redistribution of these images just encourages and perpetrates a cycle of abuse.

"Our investigators will continue to strive to identify and bring to justice anybody involved in the production or possession of these vile images."