A Southampton man, Philip Cant, has been sentenced to four years in prison for sexually assaulting a young girl and possessing indecent images of her.

Cant, 55, had filmed himself abusing the girl, who he had lured to a room where he had set up cameras, while she posed for pictures for his wife's children's clothing business.

He kept the video, which also showed the girl semi-naked, on a memory stick for future viewing. The images were discovered by a colleague in Belgium, where Cant was working as an engineer.

Cant admitted to the assault and to being a paedophile, stating that he had been attracted to girls aged six to eight since he was 15 years old. He pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual assault and four of making an indecent image.

The court heard that Cant had two previous convictions for sexual abuse, one in 1972 and one in 1989.

Judge Derwin Hope sentenced Cant to a four-year jail term with a six-year extended licence, stating that Cant posed a significant risk to the public.

Cant was also placed on the sex offenders' register and subject to a sexual offences prevention order, both indefinitely.