A paedophile predator who sexually abused eight young girls over a 20-year period, has been put behind bars for life.

54-year-old Phillip Taylor, befriended the parents of his victims, the youngest only three years old, so they trusted him to look after their offspring.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that sadly their trust was misplaced and while alone with the children he bathed them, touched their naked bodies, and even filmed himself abusing them.

Taylor, a married father-of-two, was caught out after one of his young victims innocently told her father that the way he was rubbing cream into her body was not the way “Philly” did it before demonstrating what he had done to her.

The court was told that complaints had been made about Taylor in 2000 but he denied the allegations made by two teenagers and the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute.

When police raided his home on Bratan Road, Birkenhead, after learning of the new allegations they found video clips on a memory stick of him actually abusing his victims, along with 2,000 of child abuse images, said John Gibson, prosecuting.

Taylor, a painter and decorator, pleaded guilty to a total of 58 offences involving sexual assaults and possessing and making indecent images of children.

The court heard that the most serious offences involved children aged three, four and five and the eldest victim was only 13.

Judge Stephen Everett told him, “You were outwardly a picture of respectability, a man who had never been in trouble before.

"A picture of respectability and believability and somebody to be trusted. You grossly abused that trust for your own deviant sexual pleasure.

“I have little doubt you have no inkling at all as to the trauma you have caused those families.

“You are in my judgement cold and calculating.

"You are paedophilic predator who groomed not just the girls but also their parents to trust you to look after their children which allowed you abuse those little girls.

“I have little doubt if you had not been caught you would have been willing to continue this despicable behaviour for many, many years.

“There is little doubt in my mind and my judgement from all I have heard and seen is that you will remain a dangerous offender for many, many, many years to come.

"It may be you will always remain a dangerous offender until the end of your life.”

He jailed Taylor for life and told him he must serve a minimum of seven-and-a-half years before he could be considered for parole.

But the judge warned him that in reality he would be locked up for a lot longer than that.

“I would not be surprised to see you in prison for the rest of your life but that will be a matter between you and the parole board," he said.

Detective Cons Mike Gallagher, from Merseyside Police Child Protection Unit, said: “He thought he could get away with it so did it time and time again, causing untold sadness and fear in his victims.

"His successful prosecution shows that he did not get away with it in the end and is now facing much of the rest of his life behind bars.”