A paedophile who took photographs of a naked child on Bournemouth beach has been jailed for six months.

Philip Taylor was one of two men arrested during the town’s annual air festival in 2012 after a police community support officer spotted him snapping images of a young girl playing by the sea.

His co-defendant, Mark Smith, 54, of Chitlee Manor, Liphook, Hampshire, was found guilty of four counts of making indecent images of a child, four of possessing indecent images of children, and breach of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) imposed in 2007 following a three-day trial.

He was sentenced to eight months imprisonment on May 30 this year.

But 55-year-old Taylor of Summerwood Lane, Nottingham, admitted 20 charges relating to the possession and making of indecent photographs in November 2013, and has just been sentenced at Dorchester Crown Court.

Timothy Bradbury, who prosecuted during Smith’s trial, said both men were spotted by a PCSO standing together on the beach in Bournemouth on August 30, 2012.

He told the court that, as the officer approached the men, Taylor was taking photographs of a young naked child.

“There was nothing to indicate that she was anything to do with him," said Mr Bradbury.

“The PCSO asked him to stop what he was doing.

His camera was taken off him, and officers scrolled through to look at the images. It was apparent that there were number of images of naked children [on the camera], and from the context it was evident those pictures had been taken that day.”

The PCSO then had to “jog” to catch up with Smith, who had turned and walked away while his friend was being questioned, the court heard.

Although Smith also had a camera with him, the memory card was not inside it, and he told police during interview that he was visiting the annual festival to take photographs of boats and planes.

Officers then attended his home address, and the court was told that 138 indecent images of children were found on his laptop.Mr Bradbury said the images ranged from level one - depicting children without clothes on – to level four, a description for more serious photographs.

However, Smith said he knew nothing about the images, and alleged that they may have been downloaded by Taylor or his son.

• Taylor's 'very bad record'

Following his arrest, Taylor was interviewed twice and admitted he had taken a number of images on the beach, including one of a naked girl aged around five who was standing with her parents.

The defendant was jailed for nine years in 2000 for a number of serious sexual offences relating to children under 16.

Mitigating, Robert Grey said Taylor was seeking to address his problems through the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity dedicated to reducing the risk of children being sexually abused.

“He’s admitted his guilt – he’s not the sort to shirk away from his responsibility,” he added.

However, Judge Roger Jarvis said the defendant had a “very bad record” before sentencing him to six months in prison.