A paedophile has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl.

Glen Dickinson, 37, of Kearsley Close, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, was found guilty by a jury of two serious sexual assaults on the child. He had previously served a prison sentence for abusing another young girl under the age of 10.

The victim bravely came forward to tell police what Dickinson had done to her. In a victim impact statement read out in court, she described the profound impact of the abuse, stating that she has been left with anxiety and depression and had to move due to feeling like people knew what had happened.

"I'm scared to go out by myself and I can't face going anywhere near the area where this happened," she said. "I have flashbacks and nightmares about what happened and I struggle to get to sleep."

"Even though he was put in jail it doesn't take away what he did to me," she continued. "I'm left with this my whole life and it doesn't go away. It doesn't give me peace that he's in jail, no sentence ever would. The abuse has had a catastrophic effect. I'm also serving a sentence, except mine is for life."

Judge Tim Gittins described Dickinson as having an "abhorrent paedophilic interest" in young girls. He stated that the abuse had left the victim "hurt and distressed" and that Dickinson poses a substantial risk to girls of causing serious harm.

Dickinson was sentenced to 11 years in prison with an extended licence period of a further year. He remains subject to sex offender registration and a sexual offences prevention order imposed in 2014.