A Maidstone man has become one of the first in the country to be convicted of distributing revenge porn.

Brett Wiltshire, of Calder Road, Ringlestone, admitted sending explicit photographs of his ex-girlfriend to friends on Facebook.

Maidstone Magistrates’ Court heard how the aspiring fitness instructor also assaulted the victim at her Tonbridge home and breached a non-molestation order imposed after the relationship broke down in 2014.

Prosecutor James Nichols told the court the well-built 41-year-old had been in an on-off relationship with the victim since January 2014, with the pair repeatedly falling out, culminating in the 12-month order being made in September that year.

The couple got back together four months later but broke up again in June after Wiltshire became aggressive as a result of his steroid use.

A month later the pair started going out again but had an argument after the woman received messages from another man. This led to Wiltshire pushing her by the neck.

During their relationship the couple had taken a number of sexual photographs, and a week after the incident, a friend informed the woman Wiltshire had sent him an explicit picture of her.

"Your actions have had a profound effect. They will live with her for the rest of her life" - Magistrate Graham Berry, to Wiltshire

Wiltshire, who is of previous good character, also posted an offensive status about his former girlfriend’s personal life on a Facebook group that has almost 1,000 members.

Mr Nichols told magistrates the incident had left the victim with trust issues and she had fallen behind at college and found it difficult to concentrate.

She said she did not feel safe in her own home.

Sentencing Wiltshire to 200 hours of unpaid work, chairman of the bench Graham Berry said: “Your actions have had a profound effect. They will live with her for the rest of her life.”

He will also have to pay £145 and attend 20 rehabilitation sessions.

A restraining order banning him from contacting his victim or going to her road for three years was also imposed.

Wiltshire is one of the first people in the country to be convicted under legislation brought in last year to protect victims of revenge porn.

The offence is dealt with under the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 and refers to the sharing of private sexual photos or videos of someone without their consent and with the purpose of causing embarrassment or distress.

Sharing such images online or in public or showing them to another person physically or by electronic communication is an offence.

The law covers any images deemed sexual by a reasonable person, which not only includes naked images but also pictures of someone engaged in sexual behaviour or posing in a provocative way.

Legislation came into force last spring and punishments for those convicted range from community orders to prison sentences.

Revenge porn has been prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) previously under a range of laws, including the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

However, last year’s legislation makes it a specific offence, with those found guilty facing up to two years in prison.