While his abuse lasted almost a decade he did not come to the attention of the authorities in Britain until the middle of 2014, when the NCA received a tip from Australia about his postings on the dark web.

They began liaising with their counterparts in Malaysia but claim jurisdictional issues meant they were powerless to act while he remained overseas.

They then discovered he was planning to return to Britain for Christmas and he was arrested on December 19 2014 when he landed at Gatwick Airport.

In one particularly sick twist to the case, Huckle insisted on viewing all the online material showing his abuse before he pleaded guilty to the charges

When detectives investigated his laptop, camera and phone they discovered more than 20,000 indecent images of young children, many featuring Huckle participating in abuse.

Prosecutors made use of Section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act that allows a UK national to be charged in Britain for offences committed overseas.