Serial paedophile who was one of UK's worst sexual predators dies in prison

One of Britain's most notorious paedophiles - who recorded himself abusing children as young as three - has died in prison.

Anthony Barron, who was serving a life sentence after admitting to 87 charges of child sexual abuse including attempted rape, sexual assault and creating indecent images, passed away on 18 July at the age of 72. He was incarcerated at HMP Ashfield, a prison for male sex offenders near Bristol.

Barron, originally from Grove in Oxfordshire, was sentenced aged 54 for what was described as the most severe case of its kind in his county. His cause of death remains undisclosed.

The Prison and Probation Ombudsman is currently investigating his death, with a report expected to be released in due course.

At the time of his sentencing, Judge Julian Hall labelled Barron a "plausible, predatory paedophile", describing his crimes as "quite chilling". He added: "This is as serious a series of offences as I think I've ever come across.".

The court was told that Barron preyed upon 11 girls aged between three and 12 years old over a span of nine years, starting in 1997.

Prosecutor Amjad Malik revealed that Barron, a well-liked figure within the community, had gained the trust of the victims' parents through his involvement with primary schools and Scout groups, convincing them to allow their children to stay with him at his home.

Barron then "groomed" the girls into allowing him to film himself abusing them, using sweets and toys as bribes. Mr Malik portrayed Barron as "almost an integral part of the parents' lives" and a person they perceived to be an "extremely friendly, helpful man".

The court was informed that suspicions were aroused when one of Barron's victims made a remark about him to her mother. This led to a police raid on his house where 52 computers were seized, containing numerous video recordings of him abusing the girls.

Andrew Bright, defending, described the case as "truly shocking" and a source of "great shame" for Barron and anyone associated with him.

Sentencing Barron, the judge stated: "You totally betrayed the trust of parents who allowed you to look after their children.

"You abused them completely and treated them with no respect whatsoever. You treated them as if they were some sort of toy.

"I can't imagine anything worse than a parent knowing not only that their child had been abused but had been filmed being abused."

He added: "I've no idea when, if ever, you will be safe to be let loose in the community, because I've no idea why this all started.

"I think it's right that you remain under the supervision of the Probation Service for the rest of your life."