A convicted paedophile, who moved from England to Rosyth and continued to offend, has failed to appear in court for sentencing.

Antony Hunter, 35, had previously been warned at Dunfermline Sheriff Court that it was “almost inevitable” that he would be jailed for his latest offences.

However, he was allowed bail and when he failed to return to court for sentencing a warrant was granted.

Hunter was jailed in Leicester for having sex with a 15-year-old girl he met through Facebook, moved to Fife and carried on offending.

He breached court-imposed restrictions on contact with children by sharing a bedroom with a five-year-old girl.

Police then discovered Hunter had been downloading child pornography in his new home in Rosyth. There were over 300 illegal images on his devices.

He told officers he was attracted to girls aged from 14 years-old and said, “I know I have a problem and I need help.”

When he appeared previously at Dunfermline Sheriff Court, Hunter admitted that between June 2 and June 24, 2015 at his home in Parkside Street, Rosyth, he downloaded indecent photographs of children.

He also admitted that between August 10 and September 24, 2015 at Rose Street, Burntisland, Parkside Street, Rosyth and elsewhere, he failed to notify police of the address where he was residing, as he was required to do.

Hunter also admitted breaching conditions by having unsupervised contact with two girls aged five and 10 in Rose Street, Burntisland, between August 10 and August 24, 2015.

Hunter, originally from Loughborough, came to Scotland for a holiday with his mother in Burntisland along with the two young girls. He shared a bedroom with a five-year-old girl during the holiday.

He then moved in to live with his mother in Rosyth, without telling police he was no longer living in the Leicestershire area.

Sheriff Charles Macnair had called for reports and a psychological assessment.

He said it was “almost inevitable” that Hunter would be jailed but allowed bail to continue “with considerable hesitation”.

However, on Tuesday when defence solicitor Roshni Joshi said her client was not present for sentencing, the sheriff said it was clear that the decision to grant bail had been “a mistake”.