A convicted paedophile who failed to inform police he had moved to Croydon has been sentenced to a year in prison.

Thomas McGuire, labelled as a high risk sexual offender after being convicted by Newcastle Crown Court in 2000, failed to tell the authorities when he moved from Edinburgh to Akabusi Close in Croydon in September.

The court heard McGuire, who pleaded guilty, had previous offences including grooming children for sex. He had moved to Croydon after he was attacked in Edinburgh when his previous convictions became known.

McGuire's defence told the court he had come to Croydon to enrol on a residential course to combat his alcoholism and had been scared other patients would find out about his convictions if he told police of his move.

Sentencing McGuire last Friday at Croydon Crown Court, Judge Cedric Joseph said: "You have got an appalling record and of course very much to the point a number of convictions for offences against children boys and girls."

He added: "I sentence you to 12 months' imprisonment."