AN Ellesmere Port man is the first to be convicted by Cheshire Police under new legislation for possessing a “paedophile manual.”

32-year-old Nicky Lloyd was found in possession of two manuals which contained graphic information on how to sexually abuse children without getting caught.

On Wednesday he was given a 26-month prison sentence, placed on the Sex Offenders’ register for 10 years and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life.

Lloyd admitted the offence – along with a string of other sexual offences – at a previous hearing.

He was arrested in June 2016 after a warrant was executed at an address on Straker Avenue, Ellesmere Port.

Officers carried out a thorough search of the property and found more than 24,000 indecent images of children, extreme pornographic images of animals, two paedophile manuals and an instructional chat log on how to sexually abuse children.

Lloyd was charged with three counts of producing indecent photographs and videos of a child, possessing prohibited images of a child, possessing extreme pornographic images of a live animal, possession of a paedophile manual and possession of a paedophile manual chat log.

Detective constable Andy Kent said: “Lloyd is an individual who had a clear and dangerous interest in children. His offending escalated from image collecting, to obtaining advice on the ‘dark web’, through to getting hold of a paedophile manual - which provides graphic guidance and instruction on how to select, groom, gain the trust and then sexually abuse children without getting caught.

“The Constabulary has a dedicated team whose role is to trace, locate and bring to justice online paedophiles. Our team has worked tirelessly to ensure a detailed file of evidence was put before the court, which has resulted in a guilty plea from Lloyd and a custodial sentence.

“Our priority is to protect children from harm and to identify and bring to account those who seek to cause harm. I would like to acknowledge the work of the force’s Paedophile Unit – and the dedicated team of officers who work tirelessly in tackling this type of crime.”

Police and crime commissioner David Keane said: “The constabulary has a duty to protect those who are most vulnerable within our communities and I am pleased to see that officers continue to work hard to find and bring to justice those who continue to break the law in such a disgraceful way.

“I would like to thank all of the officers and staff involved in ensuring offenders like this face the consequences of their actions and for the dedication and commitment that they have shown. I would like to assure the people of Cheshire that this type of action will continue, as the constabulary works hard to make our communities safer.”

DC Kent added: “Paedophiles cannot hide online, the internet leaves a digital footprint and rest assured we will find it, and we will take action.

“We take offences of this nature extremely seriously and I hope that Lloyd’s time behind bars will allow him to reflect upon his actions – and the consequences of that.”