A "committed paedophile" who attempted to meet a police decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl and downloaded child sexual abuse and bestiality material has been sentenced to over nine years in prison.

Paul Whitfield, 53, from Stockton, arranged to meet the decoy online, believing she was a young girl named "Carrie." The meeting was scheduled for February 2023 in Lincoln, but police intercepted the communication and raided Whitfield's home.

During the search, officers discovered videos on Whitfield's phone depicting the sexual abuse of children. He also had downloaded videos showcasing adults engaging in sexual acts with animals, including snakes and horses.

Whitfield pleaded guilty to arranging the commission of a child sex offence, making and distributing indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornographic images, and breaching his sex offender notification requirements.

This is not Whitfield's first conviction for sex offences. In 2015, he received an extended 13-year sentence for the attempted abduction of a child, where he had watched a 10-year-old girl for hours before attempting to lure her into his car.

Whitfield was also jailed for 16 months in 2023 for breaching his sex offender notification requirements. Judge Timothy Stead described Whitfield as a "committed and determined paedophile" and sentenced him to an extended prison term of nine years and eight months, including four years and eight months in custody followed by five years on licence.