A CONVICTED sex offender failed to tell police about a number of internet enabled devices when they carried out a compliance visit at his home.

Blackburn magistrates heard Steven Hutchinson claimed a mobile phone found by his bed was broken and only used as an alarm.

Hutchinson then owned up to another phone and when police searched his home they found two gaming devices with internet access and another mobile phone.

Hutchinson, 44, of Whittaker Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to four charges of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

He was sent in custody to Preston Crown Court to be sentenced on March 16 after the magistrates decided their powers were insufficient.

The magistrates were told Hutchinson had previous breaches of the order on his record.

Andrew Hay, prosecuting, said Hutchinson had been made subject to the sexual harm prevention order for 10 years in February 2017.

Under the order he was prohibited from having any device to access the internet unless it had the capacity for retaining the browsing history and he made it available to the police on request.

Police carried out a compliance visit on Monday and initially Hutchinson produced an old Samsung phone and said it was the only phone he had with internet access.

Salina Akhtar, defending, said Hutchinson was very realistic about the prospects of an immediate prison sentence being imposed by the Crown Court.