A pervert whose phone contained indecent images of children within more than 116,000 online child sex abuse conversations has been jailed.

The explicit chats shared on WhatsApp, Snapchat, iMessenger, Kik and other messenger services were downloaded by police from Daniel Shipley’s iPhone 5s.

However, Maidstone Crown Court was not told how many of those chats the 25-year-old was actually involved in.

Prosecutor Craig Evans said Shipley was arrested following a tip-off from police in New Zealand.

It was here that he had shared an indecent photograph he had himself taken of a young girl with another online pervert via one of the messenger apps.

Shipley admitted three offences of possession of indecent images of children with intent to distribute in December last year and one offence of taking 10 indecent images of a child.

Mr Evans told the court the images were not found on the phone itself but only as a consequence of downloading the conversations.

Eighty images covering all three levels of seriousness as categorised by police were found, including film clips.

Shipley, from Rainham, who was said by his counsel to have become embroiled in the chats at a time when he had depression, was jailed for 31 months.

Judge Charles Macdonald QC accepted he had shown remorse and made some effort at self-help but described the offences as worrying and revolting. He added that he had a duty to both deter and protect the public.

Manjit Dogra, defending, said Shipley had suffered from mental health problems from the age of five which were key as to why the offence was committed.

She said the webchats led to him taking photographs.

She said: “Once he became embroiled in these conversations he simply did not know how to get out. He became scared not only by the demands made of him by other users of the chatrooms but also what would happen to him.

"His mental health tainted his view of how to address what was clearly wrong.”

Miss Mangra also told the court he had since sought help through counselling and substance misuse services.

On his release, Shipley must sign on the sex offenders’ register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order limiting his access to the internet and banning him from unsupervised contact with children under 16.

He will be barred from working with children.