The blood of five-year-old April Jones was found in the home of the man accused of her abduction and murder, a court was told today.

Police discovered bone fragments from a young person’s skull in ashes at Mark Bridger’s house. He had child sex abuse images on his computer and also pictures of Soham victims Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, a jury was told.

There was a concentration of blood around the wood burner in the living room of the defendant, a former abattoir slaughterman. Around the wood burner were a number of knives, including a boning knife, which was badly burned.

An analysis of his computer showed he was interested in child rape and murder, it was alleged.

Bridger, 47, was “sexually motivated” when he killed the five-year-old who disappeared in the Welsh village of Machynlleth last October, the jury was told, and he was “playing a cruel game” by refusing to tell police what happened to her.

Bridger, 47 a former lifeguard, has pleaded not guilty at Mold crown court to the abduction and murder of April. She vanished while playing on her bike near her home and her body has never been found. Prosecutor Elwen Evans, QC, told the jury that Bridger was seen putting April in his Land Rover.

“He admits that he drove her away. He admits that April is dead. He accepts that he killed her or probably killed her and he accepts that he must have got rid of her body,” said Miss Evans.

But Bridger has not told police where the body is and claims he was too drunk to remember what happened.

“He says to us that he does not know, that he cannot remember,” she told the court. “He has played a cruel game in pretending not to know what he has done to her. It’s a game to try and save himself and try to manipulate his way out of his full responsibility in what he has done.”

Bridger, wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt and striped tie, sat staring ahead as he listened to the evidence. A large snake tattoo could be seen on his left forearm and he wore headphones to help him hear the proceedings.

The disappearance of April, who had cerebral palsy, sparked a massive outpouring of support for her family, with hundreds of people joining the search.

Bridger, of Ceinws, Machynlleth, has also pleaded not guilty to unlawfully disposing of and concealing her body with intent to pervert the course of justice. Miss Evans said Bridger claims to police that he ran over April in his Land Rover, put her in his car and drove her around the village with her “dead or dying” in his car.

She went on: “Thereafter he doesn’t know, he can’t remember what he did to April. He can’t remember because of a combination of drink, adrenaline and raw panic.”

Miss Evans said analysis of Bridger’s computer use showed “context and motive” for his behaviour towards April.

She said: “His computer, it shows this is a man who has a clear interest in child pornography and in child murder cases. I’m afraid we will have to view examples together, to give you a picture of what was on that computer.

“The images depict adults having sex with girls, some consensual, some non-consensual.”

The jury heard some of the search terms found on Bridger’s laptop included “naked young five-year-old girls” and “nudism five-year-old” and “France: British schoolgirl raped and murdered”.

On the day April was abducted Bridger had viewed online photographs of a young girl and a pornographic cartoon depicting, Miss Evans said, the apparent rape of a physically restrained and visibly distressed girl.

The jury heard Bridger undertook an “extensive clean-up operation” at his home which included the disposal of April’s body and her clothes.

However, some evidence remained. Blood found in the living room, hallway and bathroom matched April’s DNA. Ms Evans told the court that bone fragments found in fire ashes at his home were consistent with bone fragments from a juvenile human skull.

Bridger left Machnynlleth by the "back roads" and towards the direction of his home after allegedly getting April into his car, the court heard.

Members of the jury became visibly affected as the court was taken through "examples" of images recovered from Bridger's computer, including child pornography and photos of murdered children, including Holly Wells.

The trial continues.