A pervert has been jailed for 10 years for the "depraved and appalling" sex abuse of a young girl.

Security guard Gary Norton, 51, admitted six charges of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and two of indecent assault.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the victim started keeping a diary in about 2007 of what happened to her years earlier while Norton was living in Chatham.

Deepak Kapur, prosecuting, said that on one occasion Norton raped the girl after telling her they were going to play a game.

He told her not to tell anybody.

Mr Kapur said the victim described in a statement how she had been deeply affected by the abuse.

She became depressed and hated herself. She self-harmed and abused substances as a way of coping.

Rishi Nathwani, defending, said Norton's crimes were "abhorrent and horrific". He was aware of the suffering he had caused.

Judge Jeremy Carey told Norton, of Fulham, South West London, he was depraved and behaved in a disgusting and premeditated way.

"This was not simple offending of the kind this court frequently hears, which is serious enough, but it extended to the fullest sexual activity that could possibly be envisaged," he said.

"It is the grossest and most serious kind of sexual offending this court can imagine.

"The effect of this criminal conduct has been very great indeed, as her victim impact statement shows.

"You caused her great psychological harm and some physical harm. You should not for one moment seek to minimise what you have done by pretending this type of conduct would have resulted anyway."

The judge said the victim would continue to suffer from Norto's criminality. I regard your offending as very grave indeed," he added.

Norton will remain on the sex offenders' register for life and he will be barred from working with children.