A man who created a "step-by-step paedophile manual" has been jailed for 16 months after blaming his actions on "family and work pressures."

Nicholas Simon Smith, 41, was sentenced at Chester Crown Court after pleading guilty to a string of charges related to child abuse images and the creation of a disturbing document titled "How to Practise Child Love – A Paedo's Guide".

Smith's 171-page manual, described by Judge David Hale as "absolutely repulsive," offered a twisted guide on "engaging in safe and harmless love with a child." Police raided Smith's home in Bollington, Cheshire, in February 2017 and discovered over 10,000 indecent images, including 133 classified as "category A" - depicting the worst forms of child abuse.

The prosecution, Jayne Morris, revealed that the images had been collected over a decade, with Smith's offending becoming more frequent and compulsive over time. Smith claimed he started looking at images of girls aged 10 or 11 due to "family and work pressures."

Despite the disturbing nature of his actions, Smith's defense argued that the manual was downloaded "along with a lot of other stuff" and that there was no evidence of contact offences. They emphasized the devastating impact on Smith's family and his apparent "shame and remorse."

Judge Hale, however, deemed the possession of the manual, the sheer number of images, and the duration of Smith's offending too serious to warrant any other sentence than immediate custody. He also imposed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order on Smith.