An "extremely dangerous" paedophile who filmed himself abusing a young child in the Philippines has been jailed for 10 years.

Timothy Smith, from Tunbridge Wells, saved videos of the abuse on his computer after he repeatedly targeted his victim in 2015.

The 42-year-old pleaded guilty to 16 separate charges relating to various sex offences, at Maidstone Crown Court. These also included the sexual assault of another victim in 2013 and making and sharing thousands of indecent images of children.

The extent of his crimes became apparent following an initial Kent Police investigation into suspicious online activity at his home in Burslem Road, Tunbridge Wells.

On November 4, 2016, the home was raided by officers from the Paedophile On-Line Investigation Team. Smith was arrested and a number of items of computer hardware seized.

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. He referred to himself as being a paedophile and spoke of how he would share extensive volumes of illegal videos and images.

He told police that on one occasion he met another paedophile and gave him material which he had copied onto 45 DVDs.

"Timothy Smith is an extremely dangerous individual who is now facing justice for his appalling actions" - DC Mark Bennett

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

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.

On November 9 Smith was convicted at Maidstone Crown Court of three counts of sexual assault of a child between August 2015 and November 2015, one count of sexual activity with a child in August 2013.

He was also convicted of three counts of distributing indecent images of children, six counts of making indecent images of children and three counts of taking indecent images of children.

Smith was sentenced at the same court today to 10 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of four years. Smith will have to serve at least two thirds of his sentence before he can be considered for release. He was also added to the sex offenders’ register for life.

Judge Martin Joy was visibly shocked to learn for the first time that Smith had been cautioned in 1995 for three counts of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl.

“It is remarkable any defendant is cautioned for such offences,” he said.

The judge was told records of the offences had since been erased from the police national computer.

There was no doubt, he said, Smith presented a serious risk to the public of causing serious harm, and an extended sentence was called for.

He admitted: “This is not an easy sentencing exercise. It seems to me quite clear that for many years you have been a danger of committing sexual offences in relation to very young children.

“When arrested for these offences you said you had been committing offences for 10 years. You admitted, and even boasted, of sexual interest in children as young as two-years-old.”

The indecent images were of real children aged three to seven being abused.

“It is of significance you told police you don’t regard yourself as a law breaker. You described yourself as a paedophile interested in children of two and above.

“The impact of these offences you have committed cannot be ignored.”

The video Smith filmed of him abusing a two-year-old girl lasted over 12 minutes.

Judge Joy said there was significant planning and grooming in committing the offences.

Smith, he said, could not complain if the sentences were made consecutive, as it involved a sequence of serious sexual offences against children.

“Each offence, I have no doubt, deserves severe punishment and all of the offences are of repugnant behaviour - perverted behaviour which can properly be described as abhorrent,” he continued.

The judge added that the parole board would decide when it was safe to release Smith.

Smith’s name will appear on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and a sexual harm prevention order was also made.

Detective Constable Mark Bennett of Kent Police’s Paedophile Online investigation Team said: "Timothy Smith is an extremely dangerous individual who is now facing justice for his appalling actions.

"Smith filmed himself sexually abusing a very young child and downloaded and shared vast numbers of other indecent images and videos.

"He also actively discussed his desires and actions with other paedophiles and has demonstrated little, if any, regard for the suffering of victims of these sickening crimes.

"I am delighted that again, an investigation into someone accessing indecent images has uncovered the truth of these offences – that they are real victims, suffering real abuse."

An NSPCC spokesperson added: “This is a deeply disturbing case in which Smith not only fuelled the vile online trade in child abuse images but also physically abused a child in the real world.

“Thankfully justice has finally caught up with him but it is also important that he receives treatment to prevent him from harming more children upon his release.

“The NSPCC is calling on government, law enforcement and internet providers to do more to prevent child abuse images from being published and circulated online.”