A Dianella father has been charged with attempting to import prohibited child sex dolls which authorities claim resemble girls aged as young as six.

Hayden Cole, 40, is accused of using the internet to order two of the lifelike dolls, which were intercepted by Australian Border Force officers when the package arrived at a mail sorting centre in December.

The father of one made his first appearance in the Perth Magistrate’s Court yesterday on two charges laid under the Customs Act which carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $450,000.

He was not required to enter a plea and was released on strict bail conditions which included surrendering his passport, reporting to police three times a week and having no unsupervised access to children aged under 16.

It will be alleged the dolls come under the classification of “objectionable goods” and feature soft rubber skin, moveable limbs and anatomically correct genitalia.

Objectionable goods are defined under the Act as any material that describes, depicts, expresses or otherwise deals with matters of sex or abhorrent behaviour that would offend a reasonable adult.

The prosecution alleges the definition covers dolls manufactured for a sexual purpose if they depict a child aged under 18.

The ABF claims to have seen a disturbing increase in seizures of the dolls in recent months, with at least three found in WA and several more in other States, including Queensland and Victoria.

About 25 have been intercepted since 2013.

The manufacturers are based mainly in Asia and make no secret of the fact their products are designed for a sexual purpose.

One Japanese company features images of its dolls on its website dressed in leather or lace underwear in provocative poses.

The company’s owner claims to be performing a public service by providing customers with an outlet for their desires.

Buyers can have them made to order, choosing the age, ethnicity and gender, as well as other features such as hair and eye colour and even nail polish.

Mr Cole is due to appear in court again on June 23.