POLICE have released a picture of a convicted paedophile they caught downloading child abuse videos from the internet while he was being supervised by them.

Martin Cambridge, 43, continued trawling the web after he escaped going to prison following his conviction in 2017 for possessing “a great number of indecent images”.

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He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) four years ago restricting his online use.

Susan Ferrier, prosecuting, said Gwent Police raided Cambridge’s home on June 8, 2020 where they found more child abuse films and pictures.

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She told Cardiff Crown Court: “Officers asked him why he had downloaded them. He said, ‘I don’t know. Self-destructiveness maybe. I was drawn to it.’

“An aggravating feature of this case is the defendant’s previous conviction.”

Cambridge, of Heol y Dreflan, Caerphilly, pleaded guilty to making six category A, four category B and two category C images.

He also admitted breaching his SHPO.

Alexander Greenwood, mitigating, said: “The defendant knows he may well lose his liberty today.

“His previous conviction had a catastrophic impact on his life.”

His barrister added how his client had lost his job and had been taking anti-depressants.

Mr Greenwood asked the court to suspend the inevitable prison sentence so that his client could continue to be helped to address his “terrible weakness”.

Judge Michael Fitton QC told Cambridge: “You have an interest, perhaps obsession, with children.

“You said it is maybe a morbid curiosity. That’s nonsense.

“You have a dreadful urge to look at such images again and again.”

He jailed him for eight months.

The defendant was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years and made subject of a SHPO until 2031.

Cambridge must also pay a victim surcharge upon his release from prison and the court ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the electronic devices used to access the indecent images.