A carer who shared bestiality images and child abuse fantasies on a messaging app was caught after police tracked down his IP address.

Adrian Fabian was looking after his elderly mother at their home in Kingswear when he downloaded a small number of child images and videos last year.

He sent a movie of an adult woman having sex with a dog to one of his Kik messenger contacts and a fantasy about incest to another.

Fabian, aged 59, of Wood Lane, Kingswear, admitted making indecent images of children by downloading, possession of extreme or illegal images, and publication of an obscene article.

He was ordered to do 46 days of rehabilitation activities under a two-year community order by Recorder Mr Adam Feest, QC, at Exeter Crown Court.

His use of the internet will be monitored by the police for five years under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he was put on the sex offenders’ register for the same period.

The Recorder told him that working with probation was the best way to protect children by reducing his risk of reoffending.

Mr Sam Wysocki, prosecuting, said Fabian was traced through his Internet Protocol (IP) address and police raided his home and seized his phone and other devices.

He could not be interviewed at the time because he was the sole carer for his mother and unable to leave her on her own. He later admitted downloading images during chats on Kik.

There were nine images or movies on his phone of which two were in the worst category and accessible. One movie showed a child of about five being abused.

There were five bestiality images or movies, one of which had been shared online. He had also shared online fantasies about incest.

Mr Paul Dentith, defending, asked the judge to follow the recommendations of a probation report which said Fabian has caring responsibilities, poses a very low risk of reoffending and is a good prospect for rehabilitation.