A Southampton pensioner was jailed for 16 months after police found more than 1,200 degrading images of girls he had downloaded on to his computer.

The city crown court heard officers made visits to John Longstaff's home, following his conviction several years earlier when he was jailed for four years for abusing girls.

The 68-year-old confirmed he had been looking for girls and insisted they were clothed models, but when they examined the images, they were found to involve explicit photos of pre-teen Japanese girls.

Longstaff, of Kern Close, Maybush, admitted 20 charges of possessing and making indecent images.

Passing sentence Judge Peter Henry described the pictures as "abhorrent and repulsive".

Longstaff was also made the subject of an indefinite sexual offences prevention order that restricts his use of the internet and does not low him to come into contact with girls under 16 without parental consent.