A pervert is facing a jail sentence after admitting 16 offences including molesting two girls and taking, making and distributing indecent images of children.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Timothy Smith accepted he needed help but did not know how to go about it.

The 42-year-old, of Berslem Road, Tunbridge Wells, pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual assault, one of sexual activity with a child, six of making indecent photos of children between 2006 and 2016, three of taking them between August and November 2015 and three of distributing them between January 17 and March 3 2010.

His not guilty plea to raping a young girl several years ago was accepted by the prosecution.

Prosecutor Mark Halsey said police had film clips of the sexual assaults being committed.

During police interview he admitted visiting the Philippines and repeatedly abusing a victim under the age of five.

He told officers they would find videos of the abuse on his computers. Smith also readily confessed to searching and saving indecent images of children, telling officers it was ‘his thing’.

He referred to himself as being a paedophile and spoke of how he would share extensive volumes of illegal videos and images. He described that on one occasion he met another sex offender and gave him material which he had copied onto 45 DVDs.

Forensic checks by police were carried out on the items seized from Smith’s home, which included two laptops and a USB hard drive.

"The offences Smith committed are a stark reminder that behind every image is a real tale of abuse and suffering" - Det Con Mark Bennett

He was found to have stored videos containing abuse of children which combined had a playback time totalling more than two days and nine hours. Smith also had at least 37,000 still indecent images of children, many which were classed as category A - the most serious.

Mark Dacey, defending, said Smith accepted he needed help and was “waiting for the knock on the door”. He had been seen in the past by a psychologist, he added.

Sentence was adjourned until December 15 for reports to address dangerousness.

Granting conditional bail, Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said: “A sentence of immediate imprisonment is inevitable.”

Smith was ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register.

Det Con Mark Bennett of Kent Police’s Paedophile Online investigation Team said: "We work relentlessly to proactively target those who access and make indecent images and videos of children and the conviction of Timothy Smith is another important step towards making Kent a safer place.

"The offences Smith committed are a stark reminder that behind every image is a real tale of abuse and suffering. I am glad he has at least owned up to his crimes and will now face the consequences for his deplorable actions."