A paedophile from Coulsdon has been sentenced to over 30 months in jail after he was found guilty of a number of child sex offences.

46-year-old Graham Robert Mead of Portnalls Road admitted arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, making an indecent photograph of a child, and three offences of taking indecent images of a child, Surrey Police said.

On Thursday (June 18) he was sentenced to a total of 30 months in prison at Guildford Crown Court.

Surrey Police began investigating Mead after being informed of his activities in February last year.

They described how he had used the messaging app Kik "to seek individuals who had children or access to them."

"Our enquiries also identified a vulnerable teenager that Mead had taken advantage of," a spokesperson said.

Investigating officer DC Steve Branch described Mead as "extremely manipulative" in a statement after the Coulsdon man was sentenced.

"Our enquiries showed that Mead had 2,500 chat logs on his mobile device from Kik.

"He would seek others who had access to children in order to facilitate sexual abuse and also sought indecent images.

"It became clear that Mead was extremely manipulative and this sentence demonstrates just how seriously the courts took our concerns for the safety of those that he may have come into contact with," he said.

"We welcome the sentence that the court has imposed. It sends a clear message to anyone targeting or abusing children that you cannot hide online or behind a username.

"We will find you and investigate your activity thoroughly to bring you to justice," DC Branch added.