A lonely pervert who illegally imported a lifelike child sex doll into the country has been sent to jail.

Brian Leach claimed he only ordered the £500 doll from a company in China as a companion and did not intend to have sex with it.

The 62-year-old NHS worker was also found to have 278 child sex abuse images on his computer, 29 of which were in the most serious category.

Jailing the grandfather, of Whitemore Street, Maidstone, for just over six months, a judge told him: “There was an overlap in this offence, in that the images were designed to provide arousal and the doll was an outlet for that arousal.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard the 100cm tall doll weighing 10 kilos was seized at Stansted airport on December 14, 2016.

“Inside that package was what I will describe as a childlike sex doll,” said prosecutor Trevor Wright.

“It was naked in the packaging and within the accessories was a hairbrush, body stocking, white cotton gloves and red lipstick.

There was a “USB heating stick” to be inserted into orifices, a douche, a mask and two wigs. The doll had eye make-up and manicured nails. There was no body hair.

“To get a sense of what this sex doll really represented it was taken to a consultant paediatrician who made a series of measurements,” said Mr Wright.

“The height was consistent with a child aged between two and five years old.”

The judge, Recorder David Jeremy QC, interrupted to ask: “Has anyone in the prosecution thought of taking a photograph of it?”

Mr Wright replied that there was not one available. The characteristics, he said, were consistent with early puberty. It was a “fantasy creation”.

When police went to Leach’s home on March 21 last year, he said he wondered why the doll had not arrived yet.

“He said he ordered the sex toy to be a companion for him,” said Mr Wright. “He said he originally wanted an adult size one but that would not fit in his wardrobe.

“When his grandchildren came to visit or stay he wanted something he could get into the wardrobe and hide. He had come into money from a redundancy package and decided to treat himself.

“He went online and found fantasy items. He took time to choose its hair. He paid over £500 for it. He said it was flat chested but wouldn’t describe it as a child. He explained his wife was flat chested too.

“He denied having the doll for sexual purposes and insisted it was simply a companion.

Police also discovered the images on his computer. As well as the most serious images, there were 42 in the next highest category and 207 in the lowest category. He denied having any sexual interest in children.”

Leach, who lost his job as a result of the offending, admitted improper importation of indecent or obscene articles and making indecent images of a child. The maximum sentence he could have faced was seven years imprisonment.

Representing himself yesterday, Leach said he parted from his wife after she cheated on him. He wept as he told how two grandchildren had died.

“I feel ashamed and disgusted with myself,” he said. “My actions have made me feel physically sick. I didn’t realise this could be illegal at the time I ordered it.”

Recorder Jeremy told Leach he rejected his claim he had no sexual interest in children.

Leach was sentenced to 28 weeks for the indecent images offences and 14 weeks concurrent for importing the doll.

After the hearing, Detective Constable Kinga Hammersley said: "The size and body features of the doll Leach ordered are those of a young child.

"Included in the package were accessories which clearly indicated it to be an object for sexual gratification.

"We work closely with the likes of the Border Force to prevent the importation of obscene items and to protect children from harm.

"Those who seek to bring them into the country are often linked to other offences. This proved to be the case on this occasion, where multiple images of child abuse were found to have been accessed on Leach’s computer."