A MAN thought to be Britain's oldest active paedophile has escaped a jail sentence - because of his ill-health.

Clifford Dodshon, 87, is wheelchair-bound and needs help to breathe because of pulmonary disease.

He was arrested after discussing the kidnap and rape of a four-year-old girl on an internet chatroom.

Police found five computers with pictures of child abuse when they raided his North Yorkshire home.

He used the name 'Incest-Plus' and trawled the internet looking for other paedophiles to chat to.

Teesside Crown Court heard today (Thursday, Feb 11) how he came to the attention of online investigators in 2013.

Officials from The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOPS) alerted police.

They were worried he had been involved in sexual activity with a child, said prosecutor Chris Baker.

Dodshon, from Melsonby, told cops: "I've never done anything like that, but I have talked about it."

A total of 2,500 pictures and movies - showing girls as young as two a were found on his computers.

His lawyer, Julian Gaskin, told the court the pervert pensioner was "genuinely full of remorse".

Judge Tony Briggs imposed a 12-month prison sentence, but suspended it for two years.

He told Dodshon: "For a significant period, you were accessing disgusting material on the internet.

"The evil of it, of course, is the apparently insatiable market means children are going to be abused.

"As far as my recent experience is concerned, you are the oldest offender by some significant margin."

Dodshon will also have to sign on the sex offenders' register for seven years.

He pleaded guilty to 22 charges of making indecent images of children and one of possessing them.

Mr Gaskin told Judge Briggs: "He tells me he is genuinely full of remorse.

"He has lost his good name, and just cannot believe he has been so stupid at the end of his life.

"I hope I can convince you to step back from immediate custody because of his guilty plea and ill-health."