A convicted sex offender who confessed to breaching a court order by having young children around to his home has been jailed.

Colin Robinson, of Oswald Street, Accrington, has twice been locked up over the last 12 years for offences of indecent assault against a child and making indecent images of children.

He was also given a lifetime sexual offences prevention order in 2006 banning him from having any unsupervised contact with children under 16.

However he pleaded guilty at Burnley Crown Court to breaching the order by having children at his home.

The breach was also committed while he was on licence from custody for an indeterminate prison sentence and he was sent back to prison for 16 months.

Robinson will now only be released following parole board approval.

Burnley Crown Court heard how a ‘number of officers’ from the public protection unit attended the 62-year-old’s house last year following concerns by members of the public.

Stephen Parker, prosecuting, said Robinson had several children come to his home over a period of months.

He said: “He knew what he was doing was wrong. He tried to stop it.

“He justified it to himself by reference to the fact the children were coming to his address and he was not going to theirs.”

Mr Parker said Robinson had not told the children’s parents ‘anything about him being a sex offender or that he had been in prison’ and was in breach of the terms of the order.

When asked by police why he didn’t tell the probation service he told them that he ‘did not want to end up in trouble’.

Defence barrister Darren Lee-Smith said Robinson’s ‘mindset had destroyed his life’.

He told the court: “The defendant fully appreciates there can only be one eventuality and that is immediate custody.

“His best piece of mitigation is thankfully he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and at no point in the proceedings, either at the police station or at court, has he tried to minimise or excuse his behaviour.

“The defendant accepts there can be no viable explanation for his behaviour.

“While in custody he has sought help from the mental health services and had eight counselling meetings.”