A man from Bosley who admitted purchasing eight child-like sex dolls has been jailed.

Mark Carter appeared at Chester Crown Court on Thursday 11 February where he pleaded guilty to six counts of importing obscene articles.

The 58-year-old also admitted three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possession of indecent images of children and one count of possessing prohibited images of children.

Carter, of Stoneyfold Lane, Bosley, was sentenced to 12 months in prison; he was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for ten years and handed a ten year sexual harm prevention order.

The investigation began on 17 October 2018 when Border Force officials at West Midlands Airport intercepted a child-like sex doll which was due to be delivered to an address in Bosley.

The package was withheld and the discovery was reported to officers at Cheshire Police who subsequently executed a warrant at Carter's home.

When searching the address officers recovered eight child-like sex dolls along with computer equipment which was later found to contain a number of indecent images of children.

Following Carter's sentencing detective constable Dave Walton, from Cheshire Constabulary's Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: "Whist this is an unusual crime, it emphasizes that Cheshire Police are committed to tacking those in society whose behavior towards children is wholly unacceptable.

"The purchase of so many dolls indicates that Carter was not content with his initial purchases and his behavior was escalating and he was becoming more specific in satisfying his needs.

"Thankfully, as a result of the partnership work between ourselves and Border Force, we have now been able to bring him to justice.

"I hope that Carter's conviction acts as a warning to other offenders and sends a clear message that importing items such as these is a criminal offence and action will be taken."

Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner David Keane said: "Crimes of this nature are particularly concerning and it's pleasing to see the partnership work that is taking place to bring those involved to justice.

"This case highlights some of the disturbing work that our officers have to deal with and I would like to thank all of the officers in Online Child Abuse Investigation Team for their dedication in helping to protect young people in Cheshire."