A man aged 53 has been jailed for 14 years for multiple historical sex offences against two children.

Raymond Weaver was convicted after a trial at Bradford Crown Court of ten counts relating to the abuse of two victims decades ago.

He pleaded guilty ahead of the trial to one charge of indecent assault and six offences of possession of indecent images of children.

Weaver, a Bradford man whose address is now HMP Leeds, was sentenced today by Judge Colin Burn on a video link to the prison.

Prosecutor Alec Burns read out victim personal statements detailing the serious psychological damage Weaver had done to the complainants.

His barrister, Andrew Jebb, said he had no relevant previous convictions.

Weaver began the offending when he was depressed and his alcohol intake had increased.

The matters dated back many years and Weaver had stopped the offending himself, Mr Jebb said.

Judge Burn said Weaver’s victims had suffered irreparable psychological damage.

He was jailed for a total of 14 years with a one-year extended licence.

He won’t be considered for release until he has served two thirds of the sentence.

Weaver must sign on the sex offender register for life and the judge made a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite period.

After the conclusion of the court case, Detective Sergeant Hannah Andrews made some strongly-worded comments about Weaver's offending.

She said: “This was a horrific level of offending by Weaver – and he is now in prison where he belongs."

Det Sgt Andrews pointed out that the length of time that had elapsed since the offending had been no barrier to the determination of investigators to bring Weaver to justice for his crimes.

She said: “Despite the passage of time he has been brought to justice after a detailed and thorough investigation.

Speaking in a wider context, Det Sgt Weaver added: "I would urge any victims of sexual offences to come forward and have the confidence to tell police what happened.”