A depraved paedophile has been sentenced to 18 years after a jury convicted him of repeatedly raping a girl who was aged under 13.

Edward Bond, 51, of Highland Road, Horwich, was found guilty of three counts of child rape, three counts of assaulting a girl under 13 and three counts of making indecent pseudo-images of children.

Bond denied the offences at Liverpool Crown Court, but the jury rejected his account and convicted him on all charges.

Court documents recorded 576 illegal images: seven in Category A, the most serious classification, one in Category B and 568 in Category C.

The offences took place in Bolton during the 2010s and up to 2020.

At Manchester Crown Court, Bond was sentenced to 18 years behind bars, with an additional year on extended licence.

He was also made subject to indefinite sex offender notification requirements and barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.