Officers from Surrey Police’s online pedophile investigation team received information that Coughlin had breached his SHPO by using apps including Snapchat and then deleting them.

Police recovered 15 devices from him, including phones and laptops, which were subjected to extensive digital examination.

Coughlin was arrested for violating the SHPO and facilitating the commission of a sex offense after evidence showed he made plans to meet a child for the purpose of sexually abusing them.

He pleaded guilty to making indecent images but not guilty of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. He was found guilty after a trial in February.

The judge said that in addition to the jail term, Coughlin will be subject to indefinite sex offender registration requirements and will have an indefinite sexual harm prevention order placed on him.

Sgt Ben Green said: “It was clear in this case that Coughlin used various tactics to try to hide his fingerprint and was prepared to continue to lie in the face of evidence.

“The behavior he showed was predatory, so I’m extremely pleased with this result.”