Nigel Birch, sent the money to the woman in the Philippines so her girls, aged 10 and 15, would be abused by their male cousins, aged 12 and 15

A 66-year-old paedophile who paid a mother £25 to watch her two young daughters being abused online has been jailed.

Nigel Birch, sent the money to the woman in the Philippines so her girls, aged 10 and 15, would be abused by their male cousins, aged 12 and 15.

The previously married man, whose wife left him after his arrest, has been jailed for two years and eight months after he pleaded guilty at Swindon Crown Court to facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and making indecent images of children.

Birch was discovered after 172 payments to the Far East were found in his bank account, as reported by The Swindon Advertiser.

The father-of-two, formerly from Swindon, but now living in Stroud, claimed he was sending money to the woman to help her get out of the sex trade.

However, his Skype logs show he set up the show where the mother's children were to be abused.

Birch later admitted funding the online displays.

Nicholas Clough, defending, said his client was in a bad place at the time as his marriage was collapsing.

He added Birch never saw the child abused and no-one knows if it took place.

Judge Jason Taylor QC said: 'You obviously logged on for that show. It can't be proved beyond doubt it took place.

The previously married man, whose wife left him after his arrest, has been jailed for two years and eight months after he pleaded guilty at Swindon Crown Court (pictured) to facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and making indecent images of children

'You made admissions, including that you derived sexual pleasure from what you saw on previous occasions.

'You said you had paid for shows on a dozen times even though you only got a return on about half of them.

'You are targeting people who are vulnerable because of their desperation and lack of money.

'There was a considerable disparity between your age and the age of the children being discussed.

'There is an element of commercial exploitation, as £25 would have bought you nothing in the UK.'

Birch was also given a sexual harm prevention order and will register as a sex offender.